Amazon Prime Day is here once again and consumers hoping to score deals should be on alert for potential scams.
The Better Business Bureau cautioned shoppers to look out for phishing scams, misleading advertisements and lookalike websites.
Phishing increases during busy shopping days, like Prime Day or Black Friday, so customers should be sure to track purchases.
In addition, the bureau warned people about unsolicited emails, texts or phone calls, with some messages claiming there is a gift waiting or a problem with delivery.
"Know what you’ve opted in and out of before you click," it advised.
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Notably, some websites may appear to belong to a trusted retailer, but the domain name might be slightly different. Ensure websites use the correct business name spelling and have legitimate contact information and customer service numbers.
In order to verify lookout websites, check the URL and website's grammar, research the age of the domain and read online reviews.
Never enter payment or personal information into a website with just "HTTP" in the URL, as it is not secure. The URL should have "HTTPS" and a small lock icon on the address bar.
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Don't be tempted by a seemingly great deal and remember that professional photos do not mean the offer is real.
Pay for online purchases with a credit card.
"Be very wary of any retailer that asks you to pay by digital wallet apps, prepaid money cards or other non-traditional payment methods," the bureau noted.
Artificial intelligence is also "starting to leak in," Scott Knapp, director of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon, told The Associated Press. "But they still follow the same approaches. It’s just now a machine is maybe populating the email or text."
Individuals should also flag post-Prime Day offers.
Prime Day kicked off on Tuesday and runs through Wednesday.
Amazon told the AP in a statement on Monday that it had "zero tolerance" for both counterfeit products and fake reviews, noting that the company blocked more than 200 million suspected fake reviews in 2022. Fake reviews and other scams can be reported on Amazon’s website.
In a November post, it said that fake order confirmations in 2022 accounted for more than 50% of the Amazon impersonation scams reported.
The e-commerce giant said it implemented email verification tech to make it easier for customers to identify phishing emails, initiating takedowns of more than 20,000 phishing websites and 10,000 phone numbers being used as part of impersonation schemes.
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"Our obsession with customers motivates us to ensure scammers are not using our brand to take advantage of people who trust us. Customers can confirm purchases and authentic communication on Amazon’s trusted app or website by checking their order history and Message Center," Knapp told FOX Business in an email on Wednesday.
"Some tell-tale signs of impersonation scams include a reference to a purchase (that you likely didn’t make), giveaway or prize, claiming your account is locked and asking to click a link, make a payment or purchase a gift card, using language that creates a false sense of urgency and noticeable grammar or spelling errors," he noted. "During shopping events like Prime Day, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams, when a scammer pretends to be a trusted contact to ask for payment or sensitive information."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
