Amazon Issues Urgent Fraud Alert For Black Friday Shoppers — Protect Your Account

Amazon has issued an urgent security warning to its entire customer base of more than 310 million active users, alerting them to a surge in impersonation scams and fraud attempts targeting shoppers during the Black Friday sales period.

The email, sent on 24 November, comes as cybercriminals ramp up sophisticated attacks aimed at stealing personal information, payment details, and account credentials.

Amazon sent the warning directly to customers just days before Black Friday, cautioning users about attacks designed to gain 'access to sensitive information like personal or financial information, or Amazon account details'.

The alert comes at a critical time when Amazon becomes a prime target for fraudsters. The timing is no coincidence: cybercriminals are following the same playbook seen in recent attacks on Netflix and PayPal, using impersonation tactics to harvest personal details during high-traffic shopping events.

What Amazon's Warning Says

In the security advisory, Amazon outlined several common attack methods customers should watch for, particularly during the holiday shopping period. The company warned about fake messages claiming there are issues with accounts or orders, phishing emails offering exclusive discounts, fraudulent delivery notifications, and impersonation attempts by phone, text, or email pretending to be from Amazon.

TechLoy notes that Amazon recommends keeping users on its official surfaces. Shoppers are urged to use only the Amazon app or website for account changes, enable two-factor authentication, adopt passkeys for logins, and ignore any requests for payment or credentials via email, phone, or unknown links.

The retail giant emphasised that it will never ask customers to provide payment information, passwords or other sensitive details via email, text message or phone call. Any communication requesting such information should be treated as fraudulent.

Why Amazon Sent the Alert Now

The warning follows recent reports showing how scammers are using browser notifications and the Matrix Push fraud platform to impersonate well-known services. With over 300 million users, Amazon is a prime target whenever traffic spikes, and criminals are taking advantage of the chaos surrounding Black Friday to launch coordinated attacks.

This isn't the first time Amazon has issued such warnings. The company sent a similar alert last year during Black Friday, and the business rationale is straightforward. Fraud spikes drive higher support workloads, refunds and write-offs from unauthorised purchases, whilst spoofed ads and lookalike sites can divert traffic during a week that heavily influences quarterly performance.

The stakes are enormous when US consumers spent $10.8 billion online on Black Friday 2024, a 10.2 per cent increase from the previous year.

The Scam Landscape Targeting Amazon Shoppers

Amazon's warning comes as cybersecurity researchers report alarming increases in fraud attempts. NordVPN data reveals that fake Amazon websites surged 232 per cent in October compared to September, with scammers creating sophisticated clone sites that replicate Amazon's logos, layouts and product pages.

Bitdefender's latest research found that 77 per cent of all Black Friday-themed spam emails in 2024 were scams, with Amazon emerging as the most impersonated brand. Fraudulent domains differ from legitimate URLs by just a single letter or character, designed to trick rushed shoppers into surrendering credit card details and passwords.

The scams have become increasingly sophisticated. Cybersecurity analysts warn that fraudulent storefronts and fake retail ecosystems are now far more advanced than the crude scam pages of previous years, with criminals using the first week of November to test phishing templates and establish fake retail ecosystems before legitimate retailers flood inboxes with promotions.

Research from Bitdefender shows that 60 per cent of Black Friday spam targets North American inboxes, with Germany receiving 12 per cent, Ireland 7 per cent, South Africa 4 per cent and the UK 3 per cent. Alarmingly, 43 per cent of spam originates in the United States.