Skip to main content

Scammers love to use the same old tricks in new ways. One of their favorites is to pose as a business or government official to pressure you into sending them money or personal information. Now, some scammers are pretending to be popular online shopping websites, phishing for your personal information.

For example, you get a call from someone who claims to be with “Amazon.com.” (Spoiler alert: they’re not really from Amazon.) The voice on the phone will say that your credit card has been charged a large amount of money for some order. Then, they’ll give you the “Amazon Support” phone number and tell you to immediately call if you didn’t make that purchase.

If this seems suspicious, that’s because it is. Scammers want you to call the number they give so they can ask for your passwords, credit card number, and other sensitive information to get your money. If you get a call like this, there are a few steps you should take: 

  • Hang up. Don’t call them back on the number they gave you. If you’re concerned about an order you didn’t place, contact the business through a customer service phone number or email you know is legitimate. You can usually find a company’s real information on their website.
  • Check your credit card account. If you see a charge you don’t recognize, file a dispute with your credit card company immediately.
  • Report the fake call to the business. Make sure to use the contact information from their website – not the information from the phone call. You can also report the call to the FTC.

If you gave information to a business imposter, head to IdentityTheft.gov for tips to protect yourself. To learn more about imposter scams, visit the FTC’s Imposter Scams page.

Search Terms
business
imposter
scam
Topics
Shopping and Donating
Scams
All Scams
Phishing Scams

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

Mombo
July 22, 2020
The FTC is seems to be the only government agency that has not gone to the dogs. Great job, y'all. All the time. Thanks.
No use su dire…
August 05, 2020
POR EJEMPLO YO TENGO CUENTA EN AMAZON Y HACE POCO, ME HICIERON UN DESCUENTO DOBLE A DOS COSAS QUE PEDI, A LA HORA DE ENTRAR A AMAZON FUE EL PROBLEMA PUES CONSTANTETE ME PEDIAN CUENTA USUARIO Y PASWOOR, NUNCA OUDE ENTRAR Y POR ENDE PERDI EL DINERO.
jchip
July 22, 2020
This scam happened to me last year. A notice on my pc said a purchase had just been paid for by my PayPal account . It said call the provided number to contest the charge. Without thinking, I called the number. My screen went blue and a notice said to pay money to get my computer back. Fortunately, I called a computer savvy friend and he helped me back out of the problem.
Foodwriter42
July 22, 2020
This is a new one for me; thanks for this article. It would be SO easy to be scammed by someone pretending to be from a business such as Amazon that you shop with frequently where your account could have been hacked.
#IHATESCAMS
July 23, 2020
Thank you. I just got one of those calls today
Connie2cats
July 23, 2020
I usually get emails from banks, PayPal, Amazon, and other businesses requesting info. I also get emails from non businesses requesting info. As for phone calls, I usually don't answer calls from unavailable , private or phone numbers I don't recognize. If it is important, they can leave message.
SusanDon't use…
July 23, 2020
Thank you so much for this service. We've been getting robo-calls about my "Amazon Prime" membership expiring and that if I don't contact them my account will be charged. We've learned not to answer any call using an unknown number. If it's truly someone who needs to reach us they will leave a voice mail message. The con artists never seem to leave a message.
Realistic Amaz…
August 24, 2020
a resident came in to report this scam with a twist. She had received a very realistic email from Amazon regarding an order. It looked just like one you get when you order something. However, when she realized it wasn't her order, she called the number indicated for customer service. That was when she was instructed to go buy gift cards......Beware!
JSB26125
September 26, 2020
I got a call like this a few weeks ago, and just hung up. Another one today, and I said: "Ich kann es nicht verstehen." Well, he didn't understand me so I said, "Sprechen sie Deutsch?" He hung up. Ha!
Bugged by calls
November 01, 2020
I have received about 6 phone calls in a little over an hour from "Molly from Amazon" telling me a large charge was made to my Amazon account. The third time, I pressed 1 to talk to someone and informed the person that I had called Amazon. I was hoping the phone calls a would stop, but the calls keep coming.
Molly from Amazon
November 22, 2020
Molly from Amazon keeps calling me for fraudulent activity on my account. I always press 1 to speak to them and it transfers me to an Indian sounding gentleman in what sounds like a call center. He acts like he has no idea why i have been transferred to him. But then when i put the pressure on him he always hangs up. I ask what do you want, do you want my social, do you want my credit card info, etc lol. I guess they want to be in control of the situation.
Fish
March 25, 2021

In reply to by Molly from Amazon

I got a call from Molly.. today.. thanks for your heads up.
Htothew
May 22, 2021

In reply to by Fish

I’ve received ten calls in the last two hours from Molly at Amazon…
anon
June 25, 2021

In reply to by Molly

I have gotten SEVERAL DOZEN calls today, all from Molly telling me about Amazon charges. I can't keep blocking these calls one at a time, it's well over 50 at this point, all within the span of a couple of hours. I can't take this anymore.
ghost
June 28, 2021

In reply to by Molly

Molly was busy again yesterday, must have gotten 10 calls.
LB
November 24, 2020
I just got a call saying they were Amazon and someone made a big charge on my account form another state. Thank you for having this information available. It was very helpful!
Jon
November 30, 2020

In reply to by LB

We just got one today saying there was a purchase of an iphone 11 and to call them. Thanks for keeping this posted.
tired of this!
December 14, 2020

In reply to by Jon

I just got a call from the same scammer today, the number was from Kentucky and claimed someone from California was purchasing an Iphone 11 on my account. It is FAKE! please report instances like this.
Amazon Annoyed
November 27, 2020
This exact scam just happened to me. I am annoyed by the Scammer but I'm also annoyed at Amazon. I wasn't going to give the caller any information so I explained that I was going to hang up and call Amazon myself to take care of the suspicious activity. I tried to do that. There is no contact information listed on Amazon. I went in circles trying to find a way to call and check my account. It would be nice for Amazon to provide "Contact Us" information or even a Chat link.
Miss C
November 27, 2020
I just got a call saying they were from Amazon and my VISA card would be charged $379.99., if I don't call back. Doesn't sound right. Scam?
Beta
December 14, 2020

In reply to by Miss C

I had the same exact call today. Had heard about it on the news. One more crook.
Annoyed beyond…
December 03, 2020
In the last 10 minutes I've gotten 4 calls from "Molly" at Amazon saying there is fraudulent activity on my account. I pressed 1 and was connected to an Indian sounding gentleman in what sounds like a call center. As soon as I said I keep getting a call from Molly about suspicious activity on my Amazon account he hung up.
GoodMom8419!
December 21, 2020
I got a call today from someone claiming to be from Amazon. He said there was a charge for $399 to my Amazon account for an iPhone and it was located in Ohio. I asked what was the last 4 digits to the card number and he said he would email me the information about the charge. He did get off the phone quickly. No email and no activity on the card. I will be changing password on account, contact information and calling Amazon directly. I will also report the number the call came from to the FTC. Watch out! We have already had another credit card number compromised and luckily Citi cards caught it and alerted us. It happened again a month later and they text us. We have had the card replaced twice. A company in Nigeria charged us 5 different times same charge in the same day. That’s what alerted Citi I suppose. We even have 2 factor authentication on the cards. Never give out personal information over the phone.
Amazon scam
January 28, 2021
I just got a call from someone claiming to be from Amazon asking to confirm a charge of $700 to my Amazon account for a laptop computer in Ohio. They knew my name, and what state I live in (which is not Ohio) and asked if I wanted to secure my account. The number they called fron was a local to my area number, even though the number they gave me (when I asked for a call back number I could call to verify this) was not and not the same. Caller ID said it came from a Cheryl Harris, in case anyone needs to know. They wanted me to open a internet browser on any device so that I could open an extension, and they were going to "walk me through this easy process" of securing my account and cancelling the charge. At this point, I knew it was a scammer call, thank God. Stay safe out there people!! Scary
annoyed by Molly
May 04, 2021

In reply to by Amazon scam

I got this exact call today! for $729 in Dayton OH. with the exact same steps, I hung up immediately when I was asked to open my browser on any device. I have since received 6 more calls after the first 5 I didn't answer, all from Different numbers.
Sally
May 24, 2021

In reply to by annoyed by Molly

I have been getting several calls with that same exact amount from Dayton, lol. Thing is, I don't have an Amazon credit card but I can't get these guys to stop calling. They use a different number each time so it's not like I can have them blocked. Ugh.
Teacher
June 08, 2021

In reply to by Sally

I received the same “Molly” phone call 19x in an hour!!! I was trying to teach summer school!!! Thank goodness my ringer was off. They didn’t stop there. They continued to call from different numbers beginning with 281-798-..... throughout the day. Ridiculous!!!!
Not a dummy.
February 03, 2021
I just received a call from a guy pretending to be from Amazon. Told me that somebody had just charged $746.42 on my debit card and I needed to get on my computer while he was on the phone login to my Amazon account go to my bank account and cancel that charge and he would help me take care of that through my computer. I told him I do not have a computer I use my cell phone for everything and I am talking to him on my cell phone. And to please put me over to the fraud department and he hung up on me he was from Maryland.
Not Me!!!
February 18, 2021
I just received a call from a 915 area code with a claim that my credit card was charged $700+ for the purchase of a new iPhone. He wanted me to put me on speaker on my cell phone, go to my home screen on my phone, and he would "help" me. My wife is an IT guru and this has happened before. I must admit I led him down the garden path a bit before I told him I knew he was trying to scam me. he was quite persistent until I asked to speak to his manager. I then hung up. BEWARE!!!!
adVisorie
February 26, 2021
Received a automated voice message ,"I have been charged $500 on my account to Amazon and if I didn't make this purchase to call (208)722-0315 to clear this matter if I didn't make the purchase." It also was a reference number given. I guess covid19 hasn't stopped scammers completely. My cell and home phone are constantly ringing again with scammers.
Vicbee
March 18, 2021
The Amazon scammer has called us 2x this afternoon. Our caller ID shows 2 different numbers/states they called from. It is a recorded message voice over. We were given the same phone number both times to call. (209-820-4208) We will not call, it sounds like scam from the get go!
Lonnie
March 18, 2021
Should we report that phone number to anyone so that it gets shut down?
JohnD
March 19, 2021
I got 5 calls back to back about a huge purchase on my amazon account. I pressed 1 and the guy was smart enough to tell my name when I asked for the name on the account. I didn't have an Amazon account under my name and so told him that I dont have an account and hung up. Never called back
Jenny
March 19, 2021
I just got this call 10 times in a row. They are sinking to a whole new low.
Central PA
April 13, 2021
13 calls in a row. All from different numbers. Finally unplugged the phone.
Molly from Amazon
April 14, 2021

In reply to by Central PA

Same here. I've gotten 11 calls in the past 2 & 1/2 hours (same first 3 numbers, different last 4 numbers each time) with a recording that it's Molly from Amazon and there was fraudulent activity on my account & to press 1. I won't press it. Hopefully they'll give up soon.
Gary
April 15, 2021
I've been getting these a lot. I don't answer and hear the messages. I'm wary because I got scammed big time some time ago when my computer suddenly froze and I fell into the trap and paid some big money. Anyway, I figure why wouldn't it be the credit card company calling instead of Amazon? Why would anyone else raise an alarm about it? There are plenty of people looking to make an easy, dishonest dollar and it really makes me sick that these people can sleep at night. They must because they keep coming back.
Tired of these calls
May 05, 2021
I keep getting these calls, up to 10 in a row from different spoofed numbers!!!! How can these be stopped!!!!
Karen P.
June 08, 2021
Yesterday I got at least 4 calls from Molly at Amazon before I hit 1 to tell the person at the other end - an Indian call center - to take my number off their list. He hung up. After that, the Molly calls kept coming at 3/hour. Today it's starting again. Where are the FTC's computer hacks that can tackle these frauds and stop them from harassing us?
Harassed by Mo…
June 13, 2021

In reply to by Karen P.

Exactly the same experience. Molly from amazon, fraudulent charge from Ohio story. Since June 12, I'm getting this robot call every 5-15 minutes, non-stop! I pressed "1" many times and told them to stop calling me and that I've reported them to the authorities. They don't care. Apparently based overseas. My landline answering machine is running out of space. I cannot use my phone. FTC/phone company or somebody has to do something about this organized crime.
M.E.T.
June 13, 2021
How can we get them to stop calling. They call every 15 minutes. It is getting old. The number is never the same.
Tired of Molly
June 27, 2021
21 calls so far on a Sunday evening! How can you stop them?
Tired of Molly
June 28, 2021
She started again after 21 calls on Sunday evening. How can you make it stop. The numbers are always different, so it doesn’t do any good to block them.
Scott 23
July 01, 2021
They call repeatedly about every 5 minutes all day long. Each time from a slightly different local phone number according to caller ID. This is unbelievable, This is a business and these calls keep our lines tied up, and actual customers are unable to get through as a result. Something needs to be done to stop this!
Cwc use your e…
August 10, 2021
I too have received calls claiming charges on Amazon acct. once hanging up I checked my account. Fraud fraud.
Athena
August 25, 2021
I picked up a call from 803-543-7774. It's a South Carolina number and I have family there. A robocall voice said my VISA has been charged $399. I hung up immediately before they could tell me what I needed to do.
Miss Tell It l…
November 16, 2021
I just got a call from a automative machine saying it was a call from Amazon . The machine asked did I authorize to purchase a nine hundred dollor I phone press one if no press two if yes. I pressed one then phone hung up . The number was +1-386-603-9498. The message said wait to talk to someone. I was not going to give any personal info out.
JC
June 06, 2022

Got a call from my bank's phone number. They wanted wanted a code they sent in an SMS. I checked and sure enough there was a SMS with a code. Wow, hung up+ blocked on that call. They tried again with a different phone number this time press 1. Nope hung up again and blocked. Checked online at the bank no messages. These people are scary and they never stop trying. Please protect yourself and just hang up.

JC
June 06, 2022

They tried a call in combination with an SMS code. If they have your number they may send a text message too. This gives them the impression of more "authenticity", really? The code probably does the same thing as pressing 1. I hope they get busted.

Return to top