Online shopping is just so convenient, isn’t it? With a few clicks, you can have practically anything delivered right to your door. But as awesome as that is, you’ve got to be careful – there are some sketchy scammers out there looking to take advantage of unsuspecting Amazon customers.
The huge Amazon marketplace makes it easy for scammers to operate and trick buyers who don’t know what to look for. But this post will cover the common Amazon scams so you can avoid getting ripped off.
Counterfeit Products
Some shady sellers try to make money by selling fake versions of popular products like electronics, fashion items, and more. These counterfeit goods may look real at first glance but are usually lower quality knockoffs.
The fakes are meant to trick you into thinking you got the real brand name item at a great price. But you end up with a dud that was cheap to make and likely won’t last long at all. Watch out for super low prices that seem too good to be true – it probably means you’re getting a bogus imitation.
Empty Boxes
In this crazy scam, you’ll receive a properly sealed box that feels like it has contents inside. But when you open it up, the package is completely empty! The seller has somehow figured out how to make the shipping weight register correctly to fool Amazon’s checkout process.
By the time you realize the box has nothing in it, the scammer has already taken off with your money. It’s an infuriating scheme that can be hard to get refunded.
Used Items Sold as New
You think you’re getting a brand spanking new product, but what arrives is clearly used, worn, or even broken already. Dishonest sellers will try to pass off opened or damaged returns as “new” condition to unsuspecting buyers.
They might even go as far as repackaging and shrink-wrapping the items to make them seem untouched. But you’re really just getting their crappy rejects and cast-offs.
Bait and Switch Pricing
This scam lures you in with an crazy low price on a hot item’s listing to get you to click. But after you go through checkout, the actual charge is way higher than advertised. The seller has illegally changed the price, hoping you don’t notice until after it’s too late.
Some will even go so far as to edit the listing price back down low afterwards to dupe the next victim.
Fake Product Reviews
Since reviews are so important for knowing what you’re buying, scammers post tons of glowingly positive but completely phony reviews on their listings. Some pay people to leave 5-star reviews in exchange for rebates or free products.
Others use bots, click farms and other shady tactics to artificially inflate their rating. Either way, these fake testimonials make shoddy products seem way more legit than they really are.
Exterior Item Swaps
This devious scheme is when a scammer sends you an entirely different item than what’s pictured on the Amazon listing – but in the original product’s packaging! For example, ordering an iPhone but receiving a cheap smartphone replica inside the real iPhone box.
It only becomes obvious you’ve been duped once you open the outer packaging. Swapping in counterfeits or lesser-value items saves the con artist on costs while parting you from your money.
Fake Amazon Websites
Watch out for websites that look just like the real Amazon.com but have slightly different URLs. These clones are designed to rip off your login credentials and payment info when you enter them, thinking you’re on the legit site.
Other fake Amazon sites just take your money during the checkout process without ever intending to ship any actual goods. Always double check that you’re really on Amazon’s official website before making purchases.
Amazon Impersonation Phone Calls
Scammers may call you pretending to be from Amazon support, saying there are issues with your account or recent orders that need resolving urgently.
They’ll aggressively try to get you to provide payment info or remote access to your devices under the guise of “verifying your identity.” But it’s all a ploy to steal money and data from you. Amazon will never call you first to unpromptedly demand private info like that.
Amazon Brushing Scams
In this peculiar operation, you’ll receive random items from Amazon that you never actually ordered or paid for. But don’t get too excited – it’s all part of a scheme! Shady sellers send out cheap product mailings using real customer addresses hoping to boost their sales metrics.
That way they can increase their rankings and visibility on the site with seemingly more customer feedback. While mostly harmless, it violates Amazon’s policies and your personal info.
Amazon Gift Card Scams
Whether through phishing emails, calls, or other tactics, scammers try to trick you into buying Amazon gift cards and then sharing the claim codes with them. Maybe they say it’s to fix an account issue or pay toward taxes.
But once you give up those codes, the crooks can immediately drain the balance and disappear. Amazon staff will never demand gift card payments for any reason, so be very wary of these requests.
Subscription Traps
Some sellers try to lure you into “subscribing” to products by offering a low initial price. But buried in the fine print, you’ve actually enrolled in an auto-renewing subscription at a much higher cost.
If you’re not careful to unsubscribe, you keep getting charged over and over again. It’s a sneaky way to turn a one-time purchase into an ongoing money drain.
Rental Brushing Scams
Similar to regular brushing scams, this scheme involves sellers sending inexpensive but legitimate items to random Amazon customers who never ordered them.
The sellers obtain renters’ addresses and ship items to inflate their sales numbers for enhanced rankings and reviews. While you get to keep the items for free, providing your address may be a privacy violation.
Refund Tricks
After receiving your purchase, a scammer may falsely claim it never arrived or was damaged to get a refund, even though they actually got it in perfect condition. Once the refund is issued, they now have the product and their money back through deception.
Other tricks include swapping the contents of packaged items before issuing a refund complaint.
Selling Stolen Items
Just because something is listed on Amazon doesn’t guarantee it was obtained legitimately. Dishonest sellers sometimes fence stolen goods through Amazon’s marketplace, offering deeply discounted rates on expensive items.
If the bargain seems too good to be true, it could be hot merchandise that will be untraceable to you when the lawful owner realizes it’s missing.
Account Hijacking
Hackers may try to break into your Amazon account through phishing scams, password leaks, or malware that steals your login credentials.
Once inside, they can make purchases on your stored payment methods, ship items elsewhere, and even return legitimate orders for refunds to your vacant home when you’re not there to stop it. Secure your account carefully.
Bottom line – stay vigilant and don’t let your guard down when shopping on Amazon’s massive marketplace. Using common sense and knowing these common scam tactics can help protect you from shady sellers looking to rip you off.
