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Scammers are calling people and using the names of two companies everyone knows, Apple and Amazon, to rip people off. Here’s what you need to know about these calls.

In one version of the scam, you get a call and a recorded message that says it’s Amazon. The message says there’s something wrong with your account. It could be a suspicious purchase, a lost package, or an order they can’t fulfill.

In another twist on the scam, you get a recorded message that says there’s been suspicious activity in your Apple iCloud account. In fact, they say your account may have been breached.

In both scenarios, the scammers say you can conveniently press 1 to speak with someone (how nice of them!). Or they give you a phone number to call. Don’t do either. It’s a scam. They’re trying to steal your personal information, like your account password or your credit card number.

If you get an unexpected call or message about a problem with any of your accounts, hang up.

  • Do not press 1 to speak with customer support
  • Do not call a phone number they gave you
  • Do not give out your personal information

If you think there may actually be a problem with one of your accounts, contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real.

Read our article to learn how to block unwanted calls on a mobile phone or on your home phone. And if you do get a call you think is a scam, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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Our Anatomy of an Imposter Scam blog series breaks down how to recognize, avoid, and report business and government imposter scams.

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Mike
December 21, 2020
Got a call from 502-309-7406 that used text to speech recording that said to be from Amazon about a suspicious purchase on my account, charged to my credit card on file. They claimed an iPhone XI was charged and gave a specific price. Asked to press 1 (did not say why) or press 2 to report.
DF1234
December 21, 2020
What if you weren’t aware of this scam and did hit 1 or begin a call with someone and then the call drops? What cosnequences does this have?
Rlean
December 21, 2020
I just received a call from “Amazon” that I will be charge $340 and if i would like to speak to representative press 1 if not they will charge my account and it will not be refunded. I just hung up
Marble User
December 21, 2020
I just received a call - said from Amazon to verify my purchase of an Apple I-phone on my account. I just hung up.
mo
December 22, 2020
Yes I got a call about placing a £399 order to amazon but the interesting thing is that I had only just switched my number to plusnet. I am on the tps list so nobody should be able to find my number so it leaves me wondering why it happened as soon as I changed company.
SR
December 28, 2020
Got a call and a voice mail from 1-866-216-1072 Amazon today saying an order had been placed for iphone 10 for 399.00 to my account. Press 1 to cancel order if I didn't make the purchase. I did not press the number or return the call, but instead checked my Amazon account and all was fine. Must be a scammer who is able to make it look like it is Amazon calling.
learned the hard way
December 28, 2020
Unfortunately, I lost $500 today because I was told I needed "personal verification" from Amazon because another person was claiming to be me and they needed to prove who was the real holder of the credit card. I hope this helps somebody else to not call for this scam. It looked very official, but I should have followed my gut that something wasn't right. After calling Amazon, I learned that there policy is never to make a phone call to someone if they suspect fraud, they will email you.
sunbelt
December 30, 2020
Recieved the Amazon call today said i had suspicious charges on amazon account , asked to press 1 or call a number, i hung up and googled fake amazon call and this site came up and tipped me off its a scammer, to not waste time on it. thanks!.
George
January 01, 2021
Unfortunately I did push one and wound up on the phone for six and a half hours with "Jacob" who was at times encouraging, cajoling, supportive, and mildly threatening, he was in short, a master. I asked to see his credentials, speak to his supervisor, and other checks on his identity all of which seemed to suggest he was legit. In advertising the acronym FUD stand for fear, uncertainty, and doubt, he stroked them all and in the end I was convinced to wire some money ($50,000) into what was supposed to be a safe Apple account while they ferreted out the hackers who were on the verge of taking all of the money in my account, or so I thought. Once I came out of the trance I was lured into I called my local police department and filed a report, talked to the FBI, FTC, my bank, the local tv station, and my congressional representative none of whom offered any help, "This is so common we don't even follow up on these events" was the common reframe. Thanks. The money was gone but then several weeks later when I went to the ATM to make a deposit I saw that in my old account the balance was over $50,000. I figured they had never recorded the withdrawal but to be sure I called the wire department. Turns out the fraudulent wire alert sent to the receiving bank actually resulted in an investigation and the money was never deposited into the scammers account. Wow! I was lucky, but most aren't. So see this as a cautionary tale with an unlikely happy ending. Good luck.
Joinedthefray
January 02, 2021
Received the call from Amazon I'm assuming scam. They had spoofed the actual Amazon Support number, an automated voice had warned me that suspicious activity had occurred in the purchase of an iPhone on my account. I was asked to stay on the line or press 1, I had pressed 1 but the call was disconnected.
ladyflyer
January 03, 2021
9 calls and VM in the past 30 minutes from an apple scam claiming my icloud account has been breached. All calls spoof a number local to my area code and exchange. The VM gives. 315-232-8257 as the toll free callback number. Shut these people down please.
Hobbit LassDon…
February 27, 2021

In reply to by ladyflyer

Same exact thing here. I mean, I assume the ones I picked up and quickly hung up on were that too. The voicemail left when I just let it ring had the same callback number.
Annoying calls…
March 30, 2021

In reply to by ladyflyer

Same thing is happening to me. They call every 5 minutes but I have not answered.
lrusch
January 04, 2021
I have reported these calls several times, blocked all and told the caller I was reporting them-this is harassment and take me off the list. Minutes later, I get more calls. SOEMTHING HAS TO BE DONE.
TPerez
January 04, 2021
I just received one of these calls. I made the mistake of pressing the #. I typically check Google when answering any unsolicited calls. Generally AT&T informs me of a potential scam call. It was odd to me that the gal was telling me about international breach on my account that is not identifiable on Amazon or my bank account. I asked her what country had access to my info (Russia) while at the same time she herself was notably from another country. I asked her to identify where she was calling from and she said, "Seattle" yet of course the prefix was local. I hung up.
ruthies53
January 05, 2021
It would sure be helpful if the FCC would list scam phone numbers, by category, (like Medicare Fraud) so Americans can check to see if the phone number that calls us had been reported to the FCC. Seriously, how hard would that be??!?!?!?! Have a FCC employee create a spreadsheet with the numbers and the name being used by the thief. If a spreadsheet is created you can have it sort in the phone numbers in numerical order so it would be easy to find fake phone number. The spreadsheet would also make it easy for the FCC know how often these calls are made trying to steal Americans personal information. Take the 3 - 5 minutes for an FCC employee to create a spreadsheet, it might prevent a retired American, even in your family, from giving out information that could wipe out their savings!
corena
January 05, 2021
don't respond to emails that say you made an Amazon purchase when you didnt. Call amazon from THEIR website not from the email.
MICK
January 06, 2021
Got a call this am, I did press 2, but when the guy gave me a code, and told me to enter this into my laptop, the penny dropped, Amazon confirmed that there had been no activity on my account, and I had not ordered an expensive I phone.
CPeters
January 06, 2021
My Mom has received 15 calls tonight. We've turned off her phone. They just don't stop. We will try to block them
Stacy
January 07, 2021
Recieved a call today -01467852156 claiming to be amazon and press one as the order for £399 needed verification
Toria
January 07, 2021
I got three calls in a row from different phone numbers saying they are Amazon and my prime membership is going to be charged $39 something. I hung up all three times.
Concerned
January 07, 2021
Heads up to the latest potential phone scam. I recieved a call from a +17046751248 North Caroli a Claiming to be Amazon. Robo call stating a purchase was just made from my Amazon accout for $999. It then asks to confirm with 1 or deny with 2. After selecting #2 it says someone will come on to talk to you. The line transfers and the gets disconected. Not sure what that was. Watchout for it. If anyobe knows anything more about this or has had something similar happen please comment.
CG
January 08, 2021
I received an automated saying they detected a suspicious activity on my account and ask me to press 1 to talk to the rep. But I just ignored the call.
WhydidIpress1
January 12, 2021
What if I pressed 1?
bill
January 20, 2021
530-762-7359 Amazon robo call stating my Amazon prime will be renewed and my account charged $199.99 unless I push 1 to speak to a representative, I don't have prime so just hung up,
Angry Grama
January 28, 2021

In reply to by bill

Just got a call from "Amazon" saying that a suspicious charge came in in the amount of $745.00 from Dayton OH. They wanted me to push a button. Of course, I didn't. I did check my Amazon page and there is nothing there. The number was 530-382-4419 and caller id said "Aubn Main CA. Blocked the number but doubt if this will stop them.
EarsRinging
January 20, 2021
You can’t effectively block these because they just change the incoming phone number constantly.
Oley olson
January 20, 2021
We got a call tonite, it was the recorded message that there was a suspicious purchase of a phone, they asked to either press one or hold on the line. We pressed one, but then immediately hung up. Hoping that’ll be the end of it.
KB Momma
January 21, 2021
After relentless calls, I made the mistake of hitting "1" to tell them to stop -- in not so nice of a way. Today, alone, I received 15 calls between 9:30 a.m. and 4:02. Some calls just a minute apart. I'm at work and this is causing quiet a distraction during the day. I have blocked each number and they still keep coming. Is there any way to get this to stop?
Alaskan
January 21, 2021
Received phone calls from both Apple and Amazon., one after the other, The Amazon number is: 1-800-637-8983 and the Apple number is 1-850-907-6952.
CC
January 25, 2021
I’m receiving text messages looking for data access approval and emails stating my cc has expired. This needs to stop
mks
January 28, 2021
Received a recorded call/robocall about “today’s purchase on Amazon.com” in the amount of $149.99. (I made no purchase.) It said that if I made the purchase, I should do nothing, and the item would be shipped. If I didn’t make the purchase I was told to call 701-543-5824. This call/voicemail was received on 01/28/2021 at 12:48pm CST.
DottieS
January 28, 2021
Just got a recorded phone call from Amazon stating that my account has suspicious activity and not to log onto it on my mobile app but to press 1 to talk to a representative. What a SCAM! Local cell phone number is displayed on my phone. I'm old but not stupid. Amazon would never contact me this away. Beware older adults, don't trust anyone on the phone.
Fragger
January 28, 2021
I knew it was a scam call right away because it was a local number and when I called it back it was someone's house they had spoofed their number. So the next time they called me back I hit one and they told me I had fraud on my account someone had tried to charge $729 in Dayton Ohio. They said they would cancel the order for me but I needed to set up a block to block the individuals who had tried to do this. They wanted me to go to the Google Play Store and set up an app. And if you read the comments it said don't do this this gives them full access of your phone. And they can steal your information from your phone. Which is always a great comment to see first thing. So I pretended to have a problem and hung up
BK
February 02, 2021
Call received (automated message) from 07858633553 saying query re Amazon order as over £1000. This is the second time this scam call has been received. I hung up both times. Recommend anybody who receives such a call to do the same. It is a SCAM.
My husband alm…
February 02, 2021
So, I find my husband on the phone with “Amazon” “TD” bank. I was so confused as to whom he was on the phone with. “Amazon” was taking him through the steps and needed some passcode that went to his email. “someone tried to buy a phone for $700 on Amazon” and they were alerting him of the fraud. I ask, “who are you talking to?” Amazon! Ummmm, what’s with the bank name they’re asking? Ummm I don’t know. Then he puts her on speaker, could barely speak English with an Indian accent and she goes, for your records my name is Christine but was pronouncing it as Kristen Wilson. We look at each other. I can hear a bunch of ppl like a call center speaking another language. I said (out loud) Amazon never calls you for that, they’ll just not accept the order and they’re speaking another language dude. Sounds like a scam to me. She hangs up! Right after he calls the bank n right after that he receives a text that someone was trying to take money from his Zelle acct. I said, how? He goes I don’t know The steps she was taking you through, what website did u end up? Ooo on Zelle...smh He’s not a gullible person, which is why I’m surprised, but I saved him from giving our money to these ppl.
hdlac
February 02, 2021
I got a call from "Amazon" about suspicious activity and the guy asked for my zip code. I stupidly provided it, thinking that wasn't too personal. He immediately hung up, so that must've been all he needed. What can they do with just my zip code? I already cancelled and ordered a new credit card. What else should I do/be aware of?
pommom
February 03, 2021
Received a call from "Amazon" from my area code(ND) and my cell phone prefix(209) stating my card had been used in Texas for $800+ and if I thought it was in error to please press one. My card has been locked since September due to numerous scam attempts. I had Amazon for 20 years and no trouble. 2019 stopped using it on account of all the hacking attempts
CAnn
February 04, 2021
OK so just out of curiosity, what happens if you press one to say do not charge my account. What kind of information can they get from me , because I forever reason pressed one!
RicRic
February 04, 2021
Called stating Amazon account has suspicious activity. They requested a call back to a San Francisco number 415-854-9568. I checked my Amazon account, no such activity on the account. SCAM. Originating Tel No 620-910-9333
CCLC
February 04, 2021
The business received a call today from 834-902-3863 claiming they had a suspicious purchase of an iPhone. We don't purchase our phones from amazon. Requested I press 1/2 for customer service or to okay purchase. these people are relentless
RP
February 04, 2021
Haha, just got this call. Said an unauthorized purchase from Ohio was made on my amazon account for an iPhone. It automatically connected me to an indian sounding man who was in the process of showing me how to ??? I dunno, get my refund? I quick did a search of this scam on my laptop while talking to him and said "I'm sorry sir, but from what I'm reading this is scam. I'm going to hang up now."
RDRA2056
February 05, 2021
I accidently answered the call. Now what ?
Guy Incognito
February 05, 2021
Got 15 of these calls today. Blocking only makes them spoof another number. If you don't answer, they will use the same number until you fall for the scam or block them. The calls today were about 'suspicious activity on [my] Amazon account'. Folks, a quick check of your order history will confirm the scam. Also, understand that Amazon, Apple, etc. don't care what you spend your money on. They won't call you about things like this. It is a fraud detection service (i.e. LifeLock) that would make this call, or your bank/credit card company. Common sense.
Bev
February 06, 2021
Just got the automated message scam from mobile number ! It's telling me a suspicious order for £1046 has been made on my account and to press 1 to cancel or 2 to speak to someone - didn't do either - nothing on my account obvious scam don't connect and block the numbers
Bee
February 06, 2021
I get these calls on my landline constantly. They have been at it for 2 days now and call 7 times per hour. Can't block the numbers because every call is a different number and they are local numbers... ie, using the local hospital numbers to show up on caller ID; using the local pharmacy...etc. It's harassment and really needs stopped.
Annoying calls
February 06, 2021
I get these calls all the time. Blocking the numbers doesn't work. There has to be a way to stop all the unwanted calls and scams.
mshudson
February 08, 2021
I was the victim of an Amazon scam. I called the amazon support number to report an item purchased on my account that I had not purchased. The support # was actually the scam site. It took me 3 days to access my account and find purchases and gift cards. I was unable to change my account info as I was blocked. I t is still blocked however after telling the scammed I reported them they disconnected their phone# however my Amazon account is still locked and I am not sure how to recover my account in a secure way
don
February 08, 2021
Happened to my mother this AM. She doesn't even have an account and hung up.
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