With so much email in and out and so much online ordering, it's easy to be distracted. No one knows that better than fraudsters who are ready to take advantage when we're most vulnerable–that's why it's important to be extra vigilant. I want to give you a heads-up about a new scam that is sweeping the internet right now. 

Warnings from Amazon.com? 

Yesterday you found the perfect holiday gift for Aunt Molly and ordered it from Amazon.com. Today you receive an email that there is an issue with your account, and to ship your order, you need to click a link they've sent you.  So in good faith (and really wanted that gift for hard-to-buy-for-Molly), you click the link and go to the site.  It sure LOOKS like Amazon.com, so you put in your login credentials and "login."

When you first get to the fraudulent site, the fraudsters have no idea what your credentials are. Instead, they tell you that your login is successful, and your order is on the way. They might even provide a link to the real Amazon.com so you can check on the order status.  You click that link, and it does take you to the real Amazon.com, and when you check your order, it probably says it's processing or shipped.  You think everything is fine, but the fraudsters just got your Amazon.com credentials. They can then order things with your credit card, under your account and ship it to mail forwarding services.

We've even seen sites so brazen as to ask you to reenter your personal information and credit card credentials. Then they not only have your Amazon.com account login and password, now they have your credit card info and can ring up fraudulent charges all over the world. 

How to Avoid the Scams?

Here's some advice for avoiding scams:

• Check the email address it came from: While scammers use copies of the logos and color schemes of businesses they are posing to fool you, the email address is very telling. They often use a variation of the real domain name by adding characters to the real address. 
• Look at the email body for grammatical errors or "strange" sounding verbiage in the email. If it seems "off," it probably is a scam.
• To safely check your account, don't use the provided links. Go to the site using your own bookmark or typing it into your browser. Knowing it's the real site, log in, and check things out for yourself.
• You can get more info and sign up for scam alerts at the FTC site at https://ftc.gov/scams.

What if I Clicked a Link?

If you clicked a link, you are probably ok if you didn't enter any information. If you did enter information, go log in to the REAL website and double-check your current orders and order history. Ensure delivery addresses weren't changed for open orders and that no new unauthorized orders have been entered. Then change your password.

Sometimes the links may contain malware of virus code. Be sure to keep your antivirus up to date and if you are not sure how to protect yourself, call Whiz Kid Support at 774-778-2800, fill out our form, or click Schedule call at the top right for a free consultation and review of your computer security.