An Amazon exec shares how to avoid scams before Prime Day

Every year, Amazon’s July Prime Day event draws online shoppers looking for heavy discounts. The sale is known for being filled with some of the best deals on products across every category, from tech to fashion.

But it also happens to be a time when scams targeting Amazon shoppers are high. During last year’s event, suspicious email messages reported by Amazon customers increased from 5,000 per week to 14,000 per week from July 9 to 29, according to Amazon.

“One of scammers’ primary tactics to get customers to engage is to create a sense of urgency,” Scott Knapp, Amazon’s worldwide director of buyer risk prevention tells Shop TODAY. And so, they use a sale like Prime Day, “which gets lots of visibility, people are aware that there are great deals to be had,” and start increasing the volume of predatory scams.

Here, we’re sharing everything you need to know about common scams as well as spotting counterfeit items, so you can shop safely on Amazon on Prime Day and beyond.

How to spot Amazon imposter scams | What to do if you suspect an Amazon scam | What is Amazon doing about counterfeits? | How to avoid scams when shopping on Amazon | Top brands available on Amazon

How to spot Amazon imposter scams

When it comes to Amazon imposter scams, the most common means of communication tend to be through email or text, though calls are an area for concern as well. “Last month, fully half of our customers that told us about scams where they did have some kind of loss, were from phone [calls],” Knapp says. Here are some things that can signal to you that a message is a scam.

False urgency: Messages that lead you to believe you need to take immediate action are one thing to look out for, Knapp shares. (Examples include suspicious activity that requires an instant response or a problem with your payment that needs to be remedied ASAP.)
Asking for personal information: “We will never ask you for your password, we will never ask you to make a payment or a bank transfer via phone, email or clicking on a link,” explains Knapp.
Typos or grammatical errors: Look out for misspelled words in messages.
Unrecognizable links: Links that look suspicious or that lead to sites other than Amazon should be an immediate red flag. Before clicking anything, check your Amazon account to verify if an issue has been alerted there.

What to do if you suspect an Amazon scam

If you get a suspicious call or text telling you something about your order or your account, there’s an easy way to double-check: “Go to the source,” Knapp says. He continues, “You’re always safe on Amazon.com. If you think somebody is trying to impersonate us, go to the website or the app — however you interact with Amazon — and check it out. We have a message center there, if we’re trying to get in touch with you, the message will be there.”

Similarly, if the message says there’s been a problem with your order, you will see that on your orders page on the app or website.

If you receive anything suspicious and have an Amazon account, you can report potential scams here. If you don’t have an account, you can email reportascam@amazon.com.

What is Amazon doing about counterfeits?

Counterfeit items are another concern for shoppers. In 2019, a Wall Street Journal investigation found that Amazon had “thousands of banned, unsafe or mislabeled products” on its site. And brands have spoken out on the issue. Birkenstock previously stopped selling its products on Amazon after counterfeits surged. While testifying during a House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, the CEO of PopSockets shared that fake products on the site harmed the brand.

“On Amazon, we have no tolerance for counterfeits or fakes,” Knapp says. “So if we find them, we shut it down immediately, we go after whoever may have put it out there.”

Amazon has a whole team, the Counterfeit Crimes Unit, dedicated to this issue. If you suspect an item on the site may be counterfeit, you can report it to them.

In 2023, Amazon says that it “identified, seized, and appropriately disposed of more than 7 million counterfeit products worldwide.” The company also stopped more than 700,000 “bad-actor attempts” to create new seller accounts.

How to avoid scams when shopping on Amazon

Still, things can slip through the cracks. So if you are worried about falling victim to a phony brand or product on Amazon, here are some things to keep in mind.

One good way to ensure that a product is actually from a brand that you love is to shop directly from the brand’s storefront. Apple, Teva and other brands (both large and small) that are enrolled in Amazon’s Brand Registry have these. If you are looking at a product, right above or below the product name it will say “visit the [insert brand name] store,” which, when you click, will take you directly to the brand’s storefront.

Amazon also has a large number of third-party sellers — in fact, these businesses make up a majority of the company’s sales. And while most of these sellers and products are legitimate and safe, there are some higher risk categories, which include food and drinks, cosmetics, electronics and anything for kids, NBC News senior consumer investigative correspondent Vicky Nguyen previously reported. In these cases, you may want to stick with items that are shipped and sold by Amazon. (You can find this information on a product page, right under the “add to cart” button.)

When looking at any product, especially one from a third-party seller, look through the photos and reviews to make sure that nothing looks suspicious. Amazon has programs in place, including using AI technology, to help stop fake reviews from getting out there in the first place, and according to the retailer, it blocked more than 250 million suspected fake reviews from its store in 2023.

Still, it doesn’t hurt to check. If you scroll down to the review section and use the drop-down menu, you can also select “verified purchase only.” (This means the reviews come from someone who “bought or used the item on Amazon, and paid the price available to most Amazon shoppers.”) You can also select a specific size or variety to ensure you’re only seeing the reviews for the item you’d like to buy. And you can also click on the seller’s page (again, found under the “add to cart” button) and read the reviews there to ensure the seller is established and highly rated.

Also, be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. “We have great deals at Amazon, but if something appears too good to be true, it might actually be too good to be true,” Knapp says.

One thing to note is that if you do buy something from a third-party seller that turns out to be not as expected, you will likely be covered under Amazon’s “A-to-z guarantee.” You can use this to get a refund if your package doesn’t arrive in a timely manner or the item is damaged or not as described (you can read all of the conditions here).

Now that you’re ready to get shopping (safely), we’re highlighting some of your favorite brands that you can shop directly on Amazon. And as an added bonus, many of them already have early Prime Day deals for you to take advantage of!

Top brands available on Amazon

CeraVe

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser

CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

Stanley

Stanley IceFlow Stainless Steel Tumbler

Stanley Quencher H2.0 FlowState Tumbler

Levi’s

Levi’s Women’s 720 High Rise Super Skinny Jeans

Levi’s Women’s 501 Original Shorts

New Balance

New Balance Women’s 608 V5 Cross Trainer

New Balance Fresh Foam Arishi V4 Running Shoe

Apple

Apple AirPods (2nd Generation)

Airpods (2nd Generation) Wireless Earbuds

Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)

Apple iPad (10th Generation)

How we chose

Along with providing tips for shopping safely on Amazon, we wanted to provide some examples of brands that sell directly on Amazon. We chose these specific brands and products, because we thought they would be of interest to our readers. All of the brands included have Amazon storefronts and the products are all shipped and sold by Amazon.