A Common Phishing Scam Targeting Amazon Prime Users

If you’ve received an email claiming your Amazon Prime membership is due for renewal or has a billing issue, pause before you click. Scammers frequently use phishing schemes to trick unsuspecting consumers into handing over personal and financial information. These fraudulent emails might look convincing, but there are clear warning signs that they’re not the real deal.

 

In this article, we’ll break down how this scam works, how to recognize it, and—most importantly—how to protect yourself.

 

What It Looks Like

This scam starts with an email that appears to be from Amazon Prime. The subject line might be something like this:

 

 

 

Read that again. How’s that grammar? Yes, this was a real subject line for one of these emails, and yes, scammers often include awkward phrasing or grammatical errors.

 

Then upon opening the email, you may assume it’s legitimate just based on the familiar logos, colors, and formatting of a real Amazon Prime email. Check out this image of one example of this scam email.  You can see that anyone might be fooled if they only give it a quick glance:

 

 

The scam email typically claims there’s a problem with your membership payment and urges you to update your billing details immediately. But if you take a breath and look a little more closely, you might notice other red flags:

  • Suspicious sender address – Don’t just look at the sender’s name, look at their actual email address.  Instead of coming from an official “@Amazon.com” domain, the address might contain extra characters or misspellings. I’ve seen many recently that don’t even try; the whole email address is just a nonsense string of letters and numbers.
     
  • A long list of recipients – Scammers sometimes send mass emails but forget to hide the other recipients, exposing dozens of email addresses in the “To” or “CC” field.
     
  • Urgency and fear tactics – The email may claim your membership will be canceled if you don’t act fast, hoping to make you panic and click without thinking.
     
  • A link directing you to a fake website – The email may contain a button or link that looks legitimate but leads to a phishing site designed to steal your login credentials and payment information.

How to Protect Yourself

It’s easy to be caught off guard, especially if you rely on Amazon Prime for deliveries, streaming, and other services. So, how can you be sure whether an email about your membership is real or fake? Here’s what to do:

  1. Check Your Amazon Account Directly
    • Instead of clicking any links in the email, open a new browser tab, go to Amazon’s official website, and log into your account.
    • Navigate to “Your Memberships & Subscriptions” to check your Prime renewal status and payment details.
       
  2. Examine the Email Carefully
    • Amazon will always address you by name in legitimate emails—not with generic greetings like “Dear Customer.”
    • Hover over links (without clicking) to see if they lead to a real Amazon URL or a suspicious site.
    • Look for poor grammar, strange formatting, or odd phrasing, which are common in scam emails.
       
  3. Verify with Amazon Support
    • If you’re still unsure, contact Amazon customer support directly through their official website or app, not through any links in the email.

What to Do If You’ve Clicked or Shared Information

If you’ve already clicked on a link or entered personal details, don’t panic. Here’s what you should do immediately:

  • Change your Amazon password – If you accidentally provided your login credentials, change your password as soon as possible.
     
  • Enable Two-Step Verification – This adds an extra layer of security, requiring a second verification step when logging in (like sending a security code to your phone).
     
  • Monitor Your Bank Statements – If you entered credit card details, watch for unauthorized charges and notify your bank if you see anything suspicious.
     
  • Report the Scam – Report the scam to Amazon Web Services and forward the fraudulent email to Amazon’s security team at stop-spoofing@amazon.com. While you’re at it, go ahead and report it to the Federal Trade Commission too at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Stay Vigilant and Protect Yourself

Phishing scams like this one continue to target consumers, making it essential to stay informed and cautious. Always verify emails independently, never click on suspicious links, and trust your instincts—if something feels off, it probably is.