Shoppers warned not to click on Amazon scam email

WE KNOW you’re excited about Amazon’s impending arrival, but don’t fall for this email — it’s a total scam.

Amazon is NOT offering $500 vouchers to Australian shoppers. Picture: Adrian Dennis

AN ELABORATE scam targeting Australian shoppers has seized upon building excitement over Amazon’s impending arrival Down Under.

The global retail giant is widely believed to be planning the launch of its Australian operations in November, striking fear in the hearts of local retailers — and stirring excitement among bargain hunters.

But no matter how pumped you are at the prospect of having cheaper electronics, books, clothing and music, delivered to your door at lightening speed, do not fall for this ploy.

A scam email doing the rounds claims to be from Amazon, offering Australian online shoppers a chance to win a $500 gift voucher, asking them to click on a link and share their views about the online retailer.

“The expansion of Amazon into Australia is fast approaching,” the email says. “We will soon begin operating brick and mortar distribution and retail centers in all states across Australia.

“Of course, Aussie consumers are no strangers to Amazon. In the past few years we have built strong relationship with you and we are here to say thank you!

“In order to express our gratitude towards Aussie consumers, we are coming to you with a $500 Amazon Voucher.”

It goes on to say that 80 vouchers are up for grabs. At the top of the email is a disturbingly convincing graphic with the Amazon logo on it, inviting recipients to click and “confirm my voucher”.

The scam email looks convincing at first glance.

Angus Kidman, editor-in-chief of comparison site Finder, alerted news.com.au to the scam.

He said the link in the email took him to what looked like a legitimate survey by Amazon, but which was a fraudulent page aimed at harvesting the personal details of unsuspecting Australians — which could potentially be used for identity fraud.

The approach is called phishing, and is the first step in a scam aimed at stealing money from bank accounts and credit cards, which costs Australians more than $360 million a year.

Mr Kidman said the scam email showed that Amazon’s rumoured expansion was being leveraged by criminals.

“Many rumours about Amazon Australia’s launch are circulating, and crooks have seen this as fertile ground to dupe Australians,” he said.

“If you foolishly click on the link in the email, it will take you to a survey about Amazon’s plans — which on the surface seems logical enough.

“Looking at it more closely though, it is filled with grammatical errors, which is one of the clearest indicators of a scam.”

He warned Australians to be cautious with unsolicited emails, advising: “The rule of thumb is that if it sounds too good to be true, don’t trust it.”

Always check the sender email address, he said, noting that in this case the address was [e-mail] — not an official Amazon email address.

Scammers often use email addresses containing the names of legitimate companies or banks, but upon close inspection they are different to the institution’s actual email address.

News.com.au has approached Amazon for comment.

For more information about phishing, or to report a scam, visit Scam Watch.

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