Don’t be conned by Amazon Prime phone scam, warn police

Police Scotland have issued a stark warning as hundreds of people have been targeted by an Amazon Prime phone scam.

Members of the public are being hit with automated calls stating that the recipient has been charged for an Amazon Prime subscription.

Around 200 reports have been made to the cops since September, with victim losses totalling over £400,000.

Officers say callers use the ploy as a way to gain access to people’s online banking accounts.

The recipient is told that fraudsters have used their details to subscribe to Amazon Prime and that they can cancel the transaction by simply pressing 1.

The Amazon website states: “If you receive a suspicious phone call claiming to be from Amazon and asking for payment or offering a refund you do not expect, please do not share any personal information, and disconnect immediately.”

The victim receives an automated call stating that they’ve been charged for an Amazon Prime subscription. They’re asked to press 1 to cancel the charge, this connects them directly to the fraudster.

A fraudster, posing as an Amazon customer service representative, then tells the victim that the Prime subscription was purchased fraudulently and that they need remote access to the victim’s computer in order to fix a security flaw that will prevent it from happening again.

The victim is asked to download an application called Team Viewer, which grants the fraudster remote access to the victim’s computer.

The victim is then asked to log onto their online banking account whilst the criminals are able to monitor everything via Team Viewer.

Other variants of the crime involve fraudsters stating the recipient is due a refund for an unauthorised transition on their Amazon account.

Police are this week advising people to always question uninvited approaches in case it’s a scam. Instead, contact the company using a known email or phone number, and be confident to refuse unusual requests for personal or financial information.

The Bernard Matthews company is recalling its 9 Turkey Dinosaurs product because it may contain small pieces of metal.

Anyone who bought the product should not eat it.

sIt should be returned to the store from where it was bought for a full refund.

The pack size affected is 450g, with batch codes L19QGG3, L19QGG4, L19QHG3, and L19QHG4.