"Fake Amazon scam" as fraudsters target Yorkshire

Action Fraud and police in Yorkshire have received several reports from victims who have been sent convincing looking emails claiming to be from Amazon.

The spoofed emails from “[email protected]” claim recipients have made an order online and mimic an automatic customer email notification.

In one example, the scam email claims recipients have ordered an expensive vintage chandelier.

Other reported examples include; Bose stereos, iPhone’s and luxury watches.

The emails cleverly state that if recipients haven’t authorised the transaction they can click on the help centre link to receive a full refund.

The link leads to an authentic-looking website, which asks victims to confirm their name, address, and bank card information.

One victim reported entering his Nationwide banking details and later found out £750 had been stolen from his account.

After the victim notified Nationwide they cancelled the card and refunded the money in full.

North Yorkshire Police say they have received several reports from victims who have been sent convincing looking emails claiming to be from Amazon.

Amazon says that suspicious e-mails will often contain:

* Links to websites that look like Amazon.co.uk, but aren’t Amazon.co.uk.

* Attachments or prompts to install software on your computer.

* Typos or grammatical errors.

*Forged (or spoofed) e-mail addresses to make it look like the e-mail is coming from Amazon.co.uk. In addition, Amazon will never ask for personal information to be supplied by e-mail.

To report a fraud and cyber crime and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.