Amazon has reminded its users to be on alert for scammers trying to access sensitive account details during the holiday shopping frenzy.
The online retail giant sent an email to customers on Nov. 24 urging them to be wary of various fraud schemes when shopping online. This includes alerts about unknown purchases, unfamiliar website links, and unexpected tech support phone calls.
Amazon told NTD that the emails are part of its ongoing educational efforts to help customers identify and avoid potential impersonation scams.
"Scammers that attempt to impersonate Amazon put consumers at risk," the company wrote in an emailed statement to NTD. "We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe."
"Amazon was the top target for brand impersonation in November, accounting for 80 percent of all phishing attacks involving major global brands tracked by Darktrace, far more than Apple, Netflix, or PayPal," Darktrace said.
The attacks against online shoppers have already surged 620 percent since the beginning of November. Darktrace says phishing attacks were forecast to spike another 20–30 percent during Black Friday week.
The Black Friday frenzy attracts many shoppers looking for discounts and deals during the holiday season, which makes them easy targets for criminal activity.
Meanwhile, the FBI has also sounded the alarm on specific fraud in which cybercriminals completely take over bank or payroll accounts. The perpetrators usually gain access to the accounts through social engineering techniques that include text messages, phone calls, emails, or even fraudulent websites.
The stolen funds from these accounts are often difficult to recover.
Once the impersonators gain control of the accounts, they quickly wire the funds to other criminal-controlled accounts, such as cryptocurrency wallets. The strategy makes it difficult to trace and recover the funds, according to the FBI. In some cases, the cybercriminals change the online account password, locking the owner out of their own financial accounts.
The FBI said it has received more than 5,100 complaints reporting fraud since January 2025, resulting in losses of $262 million.