What to Know About Amazon’s New Scam Detection Tool

Criminals love to impersonate Amazon when committing fraud, largely because its customer base is so vast: Even a random mass phishing attempt — a fake recall notice, for instance — is likely to reach a large number of Amazon shoppers.

And an actual Amazon customer would be more likely to click on that bogus message.

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In response, the company has just launched an AI-powered scam-detection tool that allows customers to ask Alexa for Shopping — its chatbot shopping assistant — whether a communication purportedly from Amazon is legitimate.

For example, you could ask the tool: “Did Amazon send me an email today at noon from an amazon1.com address telling me I needed to renew my Amazon Prime subscription?” 

It will tell you whether the message is a scam, actually from Amazon, or if the tool is unable to verify its legitimacy. You don’t need Alexa in your home; the feature is embedded in the Amazon app and available online when you log in to your account.

The tool's response includes tips for avoiding fraud.

Courtesy of Amazon News

The goal is to “put certainty directly in customers’ hands, in real time, when they need it most,” said Scott Knapp, vice president of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon, in the company’s announcement this week. “Scammers thrive when customers can’t easily verify whether a message is real.” (Amazon says it receives 360,000 messages from customers asking, “Is this message from Amazon real?”)

Scam expert Steve Weisman, who tracks fraud on his site Scamicide.com, says he’s “a big fan” of the new feature. “Scammers have been among the first to utilize AI to advance their scams, and now Amazon is using AI to create an easily accessible tool to fight back.”

But AARP’s senior director of fraud victim support, Amy Nofziger, notes that it’s still important for consumers to “continue to use what we know about scammers’ tactics to protect ourselves” (see tips below) and to view the tool as a partner in that effort. While it can’t hurt to confirm a message’s veracity, she adds, “If you already have a gut feeling that it’s a scam, it probably is.”

The best weapon against these schemes is knowing what they are and how they work. Find out more in our story on the latest Amazon-related scams, which include tech support scams, fake Amazon job recruiters and Amazon Prime renewal scams.

How to use the Alexa Shopping tool for scam detection

1. On the Amazon app, click on the little blue cursive “a” at the bottom right corner of the screen. If you’re using a web browser, log in to your account and click the “Alexa for Shopping” button in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
2. Explain the nature of the communication you’re uncertain about. Include the gist of what it said, where it came from and when you received it. The chatbot may ask follow-up questions to get more information.
3. Receive the answer a few seconds later, then act accordingly. When we asked Alexa about an email we knew was fake (we made it up), it responded, “This email was not from Amazon — it is a scam. This appears to be a phishing attempt.” It added, “Do not click any links or provide payment information. Delete the email immediately. Report it by forwarding it to stop-spoofing@amazon.com.”