Latest Scams

[Coppit]

I extricated myself from being an Amazon Prime customer but recently had a phone call saying that if I didn't press 6 on my phone keypad I would be signed up again. Call ignored - but how did the caller know, or was it simply a guess?

A friend became involved in considering buying bitcoins and ended up with a demand for £1500 or of being reported to his employer for private work on his firm's computer and in their time. Ignored and he reported it to the firm's IT dept and it was sorted out.

[woofgang]

It was a guess. I get the phonecalls but they tell me that I will be charged in dollars.

[dannyk13]

I regularly get calls purporting to come from Amazon.

[CrapAtCryptics]

I thought you had a BT 8610 blocker phone Danny - google unfamiliar numbers, there are several "who dialled me" sites which you can then block if dodgy.

[Boto]

Unfortunately they keep changing the number. I had 4 in one day about my non-existent Amazon Prime account and they were all from different numbers. Even so, I do block them.

[gingejbee]

Strange, isn't it....I DO have an Amazon Prime account and never get any phonecalls/texts about it from anyone.

[birdie1971]

I was the victim of a scam perpetrated on Amazon and they were utterly useless when I brought it to their attention.

I was looking though my credit card statement a couple of years ago and I noticed an Amazon Prime [AP] subscription. I have never taken out an AP subscription so I was rather perplexed and concerned by this. I immediately went on-line and initiated a “chat” with one of their reps. The conversation went thusly:

Me: Hello. It would appear that someone has hacked my Amazon account and falsely subscribed me to AP.
AP: Oh dear. Have you given anyone your password or credit card details?
Me: No.
AP: Could one of your kids have stolen your credit card details and taken out this AP subscription without your knowledge?
Me: No. I have no kids. The only people who live at my house are myself and my wife.
AP: Could your wife have done this?
Me: No. She's sitting here next to me and is just as confused as I am. Please can you tell me the name of the person who has taken out the AP subscription?
AP: The name is “Mr Malcolm”.
Me: I don't know a Mr Malcolm. Never heard of him.
AP: It would appear that Mr Malcolm has linked his account to yours.
Me: How can that happen? I haven't given anyone permission to link their account to mine.
AP: You must have done because he has linked his account to yours.
Me: I haven't. I don't know who this person is.
AP: You must have given him permission. Otherwise this simply cannot happen.
Me: I can assure you that I don't know a Mr Malcolm.
AP: OK. This will be easy to resolve.
Me: Good. What do I need to do?
AP: Just give me Mr Malcolm's address and I can un-link him from your account.
Me: But I don't know Mr Malcolm. How many times do I have to say that? I've never met anyone of that name nor have I given anyone permission to link their Amazon account to mine. How can I give you the details of a man I do not know and have never met and who is probably using a false name?
AP: I need his address otherwise I can't help you.
Me: You're a moron.

I hang up.

I phone my bank.

Bank: Hello. How can I help?
Me: Someone has somehow hacked my Amazon account and taken out an AP subscription. Please can you cancel my credit card and issue me with a new one?
Bank: Certainly. Have you contacted Amazon about this?
Me: Yes [I relay the above conversation to him].
Bank: * Sighs *. They said what?
Me: I know. They're cretins.
Bank: We see this a lot. Fraudsters take out small amounts like AP subscriptions to test the waters. If the card isn't cancelled straight away they assume that the holder doesn't check their statements and then they start systematically draining the card in the hope that by the time the owner realises they've been compromised, the fraudster has taken them for hundreds if not thousands of pounds.
Me: Wow. And this is widespread? I didn't know.
Bank: Unfortunately it is. Card cancelled. A new card will be with you within a week.

New card arrives in two days. At Christmas.

Amazon are completely and utterly useless when it comes to things like this. They don't care.

To this day I have no idea how “Mr Malcolm” managed to link his Amazon account with mine. Something is wrong in the state of Amazon.

[Coppit]

I resent Amazon and others of like ilk because they are effectively not paying their fair share of tax. It doesn't always cost more to avoid them. Use Wordery for books, for example.
However, there are other means by which CC details can be obtained. Watching its use on a keypad, for example or buying something over the phone, and the employee stealing the security number.

[MartinMillar]

// resent Amazon and others of like ilk because they are effectively not paying their fair share of tax. //

If you look in to the cases you will find that whilst you do not like it they are actually paying the tax legally required.

[Coppit]

I know they are paying the legally required amount but this is only because they are able to take clever advantage of tax rules. This means that competitors, hence UK citizens, have to bear the cost of providing all the services which Amazon and their employees need and want.