Amazon delivery phone call scams: how to spot the fake order call
Quick answer
A call about an Amazon order or delivery you didn't expect is a red flag. Amazon says it never asks for personal details, payment, gift card codes or remote access this way. Hang up, check Your Orders in the Amazon app or website, and report it.
- Comes by
- Phone call, Text, Email
- Pretends to be
- Amazon
- First reported
- Latest official alert
- (FTC)
- Last updated
How it works
Scammers pretend to be Amazon. Amazon's own help pages describe the pattern: you get an unexpected order or delivery notice, by phone, text or email, for something you never bought. The caller then offers to "fix" it.
Amazon lists what the scammers are after: a payment, your personal information or access to your computer. The usual moves:
- False urgency. Something is wrong right now and you must act before it gets worse.
- Requests for personal information. They ask on the phone for your address, payment details or account login.
- Payment outside Amazon. They want a wire transfer or a third-party site instead of the Amazon website or app.
- Gift cards. They ask you to buy gift cards and read out the numbers, codes or PINs.
Amazon's guidance is that if you got correspondence about an order you didn't place, it likely wasn't from Amazon. You can check your real order history yourself.
Red flags
- A call or message about an order or delivery you didn't place
- Urgency: act now or something bad happens
- Questions about your address, card number or account password
- A request to pay by gift card or by wire transfer
- Instructions to pay on a site other than Amazon's website or app
- A caller who asks you to let them into your computer
Example message
This is the Amazon delivery team. We're calling about an order for an expensive item shipping to your address. If you didn't place it, stay on the line and we'll cancel it. I'll need to confirm your card details first, or call us back at [phone number].
What to do
- 1
Hang up without pressing or saying anything
Don't call back a number the caller gave you and don't follow a link they send.
- 2
Check your orders yourself
Open the Amazon app or type the website address in yourself and look at Your Orders. If the order isn't there, it didn't come from your account.
- 3
Ask Amazon to verify it
Amazon says you can open Alexa for Shopping and ask something like "Did you call me today?", or submit a suspicious message through its Verify Communications page.
- 4
If you paid or gave card details, call your bank
Call the number on the back of your card, report the fraud and ask for the card to be replaced. Gift card numbers should go to the gift card company along with the receipt.
- 5
If you gave your Amazon password or let them into your computer
Change your Amazon password from a device you trust, turn on two-step verification and change that password anywhere else you used it.
- 6
Report it
Report the call to Amazon and to the FTC. Keep the date, time and number that called.
Report it
Check if your details are exposed with Serus
Scammers find your number and address on data brokers and people-search sites. Serus removes them.
Why you got it
Scammers calling about an Amazon order need your phone number, and the more they know about you (your name, your address) the more convincing the call. Those details sit on people-search sites and in breach dumps that scammers buy or download. Serus finds the people-search sites and data brokers that list your phone number and address and requests removal, and it alerts you when your details show up in a breach.
Official alerts
More Amazon scams
Frequently asked
Will Amazon ever call me about an order?
Amazon says it may send updates about orders, payments, deliveries or account status, but it never asks you to give personal information, payment details or gift card codes, or to call a phone number, in a text. If a call is about an order you didn't place, treat it as a scam and check Your Orders.
I don't have an Amazon account. Why did they call?
Scammers send these to anyone. Amazon's own page tells people without an account to report the message to Amazon's reporting address, and you can report to the FTC as well.
Can Amazon tell me whether a call was really from them?
Yes. Amazon says you can ask Alexa for Shopping something like "Did you call me today?", or submit a suspicious message through its Verify Communications page.
What if they asked me to pay with gift cards?
Only scammers demand gift cards as payment. Contact the gift card company right away with the card number and receipt, then report it to the FTC.
Sources
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.