Better Business Bureau Warns Of Post-Prime Day Scam
In true scammer fashion, there is a new scam floating around. This time, scammers are capitalizing on the aftermath of Amazon Prime Day!
Scammers have been busy lately, with a recent scam targeting Wisconsin residents. The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported a new scam circulating around the state that several have fallen for so far.
The scam centers around a voicemail with the scammer pretending to be a Sergeant from the local police department. The scammer leaves a phone number for the victim to call them back and from there, they try to gather personal or banking information.
This was a scam that I hadn't heard about before, as usually scammers use a text or email rather than a voicemail. This makes it a little less suspicious than the scams that are more obvious.
Now, there's another scam to worry about. This scam centers around Amazon Prime Day, which happened at the start of last week. So why is this relevant now? Because scammers are coming up with fake post-Amazon Prime Day deals.
If you're like me, you're sad you missed out on the deals and didn't hop on any while you had the chance. This is exactly the kind of thing these scammers are hoping for. So how does it work? Scammers pose as big name companies and send you a fake message.
These messages could be in the form of text or email. They look legitimate and have a link for you to click to claim your "reward" or a reward of some kind. They use this under the guise of wanting to have a sale or wanting to keep the deals going after Amazon Prime Day.
According to the Better Business Bureau, these types of scams are common. They are especially common during major shopping holidays like Christmas and Black Friday. Amazon Prime Day and the weeks that follow are also included on this list.
As always, do not click any link you receive via text or email unless you are entirely sure that it isn't a scam. I always look at the email address if I receive an email that seems even a little bit off. Usually, it is a strange email or there is a letter or two off. That's a good rule of thumb when to comes to things like this.
The Better Business Bureau also suggests going straight to the source. Let's say you get an email from a big company. Go to their website or call them directly to see if an offer is legitimate. Sadly, if it seems too good to be true it probably is.
Sadly, Amazon scams are nothing new. In 2021, officials with Otter Tail County in Minnesota warned residents of one. In this case, scammers posed as Amazon employees and reached out to people telling them there were issues with their account.
The year before, there was yet another Amazon scam. This one revolved around a fake email from scammers. We all know what happens from there!