As a consumer and personal finance journalist, I’m really good at spotting scams. I’ve written about lots of scams – the imposter, cryptocurrency, text messages, employment, tech support, romance, sweepstakes, investment, sweepstakes and lottery, fake charities, identity theft, and more.
However, Friday morning I was in a hurry and a bit stressed, so when I saw a text message from Amazon about a recall, I clicked on the link.
“H277549” was the title of the text message.
The text I could see under the title was “Amazon Safety Recall:” and “Ammzobb.shop”
The text message read as follows:
Amazon Safety Recall
We are contacting you because the product you purchased is being recalled. The recall is due to quality and safety concerns. We urge you to stop using the product immediately and contact us to arrange a full refund, you can review your order at the following link.
https://shorturl.at/UnpMK
Safety Recall: Order Number 086-27942-753870 Your safety is our top priority. Please visit our website for more details and instructions.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you.
Thank you for shopping with Amazon.
Where I made my mistake was not looking at the URL more closely. Amazon would never use a URL that included “shorturl.”
When I clicked on the link, I went to a screen that wanted me to enter my Amazon user name and password.
Having written about hundreds of recalls, I knew that wasn’t the correct procedure. When you click on recall information, you go to a webpage about the recall.
These scammers wanted to know my Amazon password so they could steal it and probably order items from my account.
So, beware of this new scam. Scammers are at work every day, trying to steal your personal information and your money.
