FTC data spotlights scammers impersonating Amazon: How businesses can reduce harm to consumers

The Federal Trade Commission has been warning consumers for years about fake scams — calls that falsely purport to be from the IRS, Social Security Administration or other offices or businesses. The messages attempt to force people to pay immediately or hand over sensitive personal information. The latest data from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shines a spotlight on Amazon’s rampant counterfeit scams that have cost consumers millions of dollars.

From July 2020 to June 2021, about one-third of people who reported business impersonators to the FTC said the scammer claimed to be calling from Amazon. The Federal Trade Commission provides guidance for consumers on how to spot, block and report imposters. But the findings in Data Spotlight also show that when scammers misuse well-known company names, Amazon and other businesses can take steps to reduce the impact on consumers.

How big is the problem? During that year, reports of Amazon imposters increased more than fivefold. About 96,000 people reported being targeted, and nearly 6,000 said they lost money. More than $27 million in losses were reported, with the median reported individual loss being approximately $1,000. (To put these numbers into context, based on reports the FTC received during the same period, the second most commonly impersonated company was Apple, with approximately 16,000 reports received.)

Additionally, data suggests that Amazon impersonation scams may be disproportionately harming older adults. People 60 and older were more than four times more likely than younger people to report losing money to Amazon impostors in the past year, reporting a median loss of $1,500 compared to those under 60. The median loss was $814.

Data Spotlight explains the many ways scammers capitalize on Amazon’s name and ubiquity, but it often involves an unexpected message from “Amazon” warning that there’s suspicious activity or unauthorized purchases on a person’s Amazon account. Sometimes, when the person calls back the number in the message, a fake “Amazon representative” tricks them into allowing remote access to their computer, purportedly to facilitate a refund. You can guess what happens next: a series of lies leading people to believe that too much money has been (allegedly) returned and must be returned.

What can be done? The FTC’s general advice to consumers is to ignore such unexpected messages and if you have questions about whether a call, email or text message is legitimate, contact the company through a verifiable customer service line. Unfortunately, many companies, including Amazon, make it difficult for consumers to spot and stop these types of scams because people can’t find an easy way to identify whether a suspicious message is genuine.

Another option for large institutions (whether public or private) that are often impersonated is to develop consistent policies on how they communicate with consumers. For example, some entities have a general policy not to call consumers out of the blue. Instead, they can respond to consumer inquiries over the phone, or they can follow up after sending a letter to the consumer. When agencies share these policies with the public and apply them consistently, it may be easier for consumers to identify whether unsolicited messages are false.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to how counterfeit companies can help people detect and stop this form of fraud. But simply shifting the responsibility to consumers is not the answer. It’s in a business’s best interest to consider solutions that help protect its good reputation and loyal customers.