Amazon scam texts, emails and calls
Amazon says it will never ask you to buy a gift card, pay outside its app, website or stores, or install software so support can reach your device.1 Check your orders in the app yourself.
Text Message
Today 9:41 AM
Amazon security alert1: a purchase of a laptop for $1,199.002 was placed on your account. If this wasn't you, call the fraud department with Amazon3 now at +1 (469) 555-01764
- An automated-looking "security alert". The FTC flagged these fake Amazon alerts in its 2022 data.2
- A big-ticket order you didn't make.2
- The "fraud department with Amazon". The goal is to get you to reply or call.3
- A number in the message. Amazon says not to call numbers sent by text or email, or found in search results.1
What to do Open the Amazon app or website yourself and check your orders before doing anything.1
Rebuilt from FTC descriptions; the order, amount and numbers are made up. Checked 28 October 2026 against the sources.
The four stories
Amazon names these lures, by email, text or phone. Of the Amazon impersonation scams its customers reported in 2025, 28% tried to get into their accounts.1
A purchase or an account issue
A product or service you didn't buy, or a problem with your account. Callers may ask you to install software or share a one-time password.1
Check your order history in the app.1
A job offer or a product recall
Messages about a job opportunity or a recall use Amazon's name too.1 See job offer text scams.
Confirm it in the app or on Amazon.com first.1
What Amazon says it won't do
If a message or caller does any of these, it isn't Amazon.1
- Ask for payment by phone or email.Payment happens only in its app, on its website or in its stores.1
- Ask you to pay or transfer money on another website.Amazon says it won't call and ask for that.1
- Ask you to buy a gift card."No legitimate sale or transaction will require you to pay with gift cards."1
- Ask you to install software or give remote access.And it won't charge you for customer service.1
If money already left your account
How you paid decides who to call first. Call today.4
| You paid by | Contact right away |
|---|---|
| Credit or debit card | Your card issuer or bank, on the number on the card, and ask for a refund. |
| Bank transfer or Zelle | Your bank or credit union. Ask them to reverse the payment. |
| Payment app | The app. Report the payment and ask for a reversal. |
| Gift card | The card's issuer, on the number on the card. Keep the card and the receipt. |
| Wire transfer | The wire transfer company. Say it was a scam and ask for a refund. |
| Cryptocurrency | The exchange or crypto ATM operator, then the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. |
More scam examples
- Unpaid toll textA small toll, a late fee and a link.
- USPS package textA delivery problem and a redelivery fee.
- How to report a scamWhere each kind of scam goes, in the US and the UK.
- "Wrong number" textA friendly stranger who turns to investing.
- Job offer text and task scamEasy pay, then a deposit to get paid.
- Fake Geek Squad renewal emailHundreds of dollars, call within 24 hours.
- PayPal invoice scamAn invoice you never ordered, sent through PayPal.
- Fake bank fraud alert"Reply YES or NO", then a call.
- IRS scam texts and emailsA refund you weren't expecting, or a threat.
- Crypto romance scamA new friend with a trading app.
- All nine examplesThe home page, with every scam side by side.
Sources 4
- 6 tips to help you spot and avoid scams impersonating Amazon, Amazon. Read 28 October 2026.
- IYKYK: The top text scams of 2022 (Data Spotlight, 8 June 2023), Federal Trade Commission. Read 28 October 2026.
- Is that unexpected text a scam? (16 April 2025), Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. Read 28 October 2026.
- What To Do if You Were Scammed (June 2026), Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. Read 28 October 2026.
Every example is rebuilt from an official alert and made safe, and every source shows the day we read it. How we check