Amazon warns of new scam

One resident wrote on social media that a call was made from someone claiming to be from the global firm to an 81-year-old woman with an attempt to con her into giving her card details.

The person said the woman didn’t even use Amazon so did not give any details, adding the call had been from a mobile number when they checked.

A spokesman for Amazon said they had been made aware of similar calls being made, and were working with Action Fraud in cracking down on the scam.

The spokesman added: “We take phishing and spoofing attempts on our customers seriously, and will never call a customer for payment outside of our website.

“If a customer has concerns or receives a call they believe is not from Amazon, they can check Amazon.co.uk help pages for guidance.”

We also recently reported on a Royal Mail scam in which fraudsters send an email out of the blue pretending to be from the postal delivery service, and also used Amazon’s name.

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The email pretends the Royal Mail was not able to deliver the item, and claims the parcel was returned to their depot adding “you need to reschedule your package delivery”.

But when people clicked on the link those targeted were prompted to provide bank details to pay a ‘redelivery fee’ for an amount often up to £4.

Royal Mail has highlighted the scam, and pointed out the scammers try to claim the package is from Amazon or HM Revenue and Customs.

Royal Mail said: “Fraudsters often use subjects or greetings that are impersonal and general, like “Attention Royal Mail Customer”.

“They may use a forged email address in the “from” field like “delivery@royalmail.com”.

“They may even use the Royal Mail logo. None of this guarantees the email has come from us.

“Never send sensitive, personal information, security details or credit card numbers by email.”

Scams can be reported to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or through its website actionfraud.police.uk.