Amazon scam call: what to do if "Amazon" rings you

9 November 2026 · Secordit · Last checked 9 November 2026

Imagine it's a weekday afternoon. A polite voice says it's Amazon's fraud department. Someone has added items to your basket, it says, and is trying to pay with your bank details. The caller can stop it, but only if you follow their steps.

Report Fraud, the national reporting service for fraud and cyber crime, issued an alert about this call on 30 October. Between 5 and 14 October it received 110 reports of Amazon impersonation. Victims lost £86,837 in nine days, an average of more than £9,600 a day. People aged 50 to 79 made up 60 per cent of the reports.

Short answer: If a caller says they're from Amazon and asks you to share your screen, install an app, send ID or pay, hang up. Check your account yourself through the Amazon app or website. Report the number by texting 7726 with the word "Call" and the number. If you've already done what they asked, ring your bank on 159.

How does the Amazon scam call work?

The caller says there's suspicious activity on your account. They say unauthorised items are in your basket, with delivery addresses that aren't yours.

Then comes the rescue. Report Fraud says the caller tells you the payments can be stopped, but only if you do one of these things:

1. Share your screen through a messaging app and download a money transfer app. The criminals use that app to move your money into accounts they control.
2. Send a passport or driving licence "for verification".
3. Install remote access software. It lets them control your device and make payments without you seeing.
4. Authorise payments for gift cards they say were added to your basket. The money goes to accounts the criminals control.

The pattern is a problem, a deadline and a rescuer. The rescuer's price is access to your phone or your money. The same shape sits behind vishing calls from fake banks, and behind the £700,000 safe account case that reached the Supreme Court.

Would Amazon really ring me?

We can't tell you whether one particular call is genuine, and neither can your phone. Report Fraud says caller ID is not proof of who is calling. Numbers can be spoofed.

What we can do is share what Amazon says about itself. Its help page says it will never ask over the phone for your password, a one-time passcode, gift card details or bank card details. It also says to end the call if you feel uneasy, then contact Customer Service through the Amazon app or website.

So the test isn't "does this sound like Amazon?". It's "is this call asking me to share, install or pay?". If it is, hang up.

What should I do when the call comes?

Work through it in this order.

1. Hang up. You don't owe the caller an answer, and you don't have to be polite.
2. Check for yourself. Open the Amazon app, or type the website address in yourself. Look at Your Orders and your messages. If nothing looks odd, there's nothing to stop.
3. Use Amazon's own channels. Don't use a phone number or link the caller gave you.
4. Report the number. Text 7726 with the word "Call", then the caller's number. Report Fraud asks for it in this form.
5. Ring your bank only if you're worried. Use 159 or the number on your card. Wait at least five minutes, or use a different phone. In a real courier fraud case, the gang kept the line open, so the victims' "check" calls reached them.

What if I've already done what they asked?

Don't feel foolish. Report Fraud's head of operations says these approaches feel ordinary and can catch any of us off guard.

Do these in order:

1. Stop following instructions. Close the screen share. If you installed an app they told you to, remove it, and don't open it again. Our glossary explains how tech support scams use remote access.
2. Ring your bank. Use 159 or the number on your card. Tell them what happened and ask them to look at any payments.
3. Change passwords. Start with your email, then your bank and your Amazon account. Use another device if you can.
4. Protect your identity. If you sent a passport or driving licence, contact the organisation that issued it. The government's Stop! Think Fraud campaign suggests checking your credit report. It also describes Cifas Protective Registration, which adds extra checks when your details are used to apply for credit.
5. Report it. Use Report Fraud online or call 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. Ask for a crime reference number.

How do I help a parent who gets these calls?

Agree a rule before the call comes. One line works: if a call asks me to do something with my phone or my money, I hang up and ring someone I trust.

Write it down. Put it by the landline or on the fridge. Say the pattern out loud together, so "unauthorised basket items" sounds familiar when it comes up in real life. A family safe phrase helps too, and our voice-clone guide explains how to set one up.

Do it side by side, and keep blame out of it. The point is a plan the whole family shares, not taking over someone's phone.

Common questions about Amazon scam calls

A plan for the whole family

If this call has made you think about a parent, our Helping an Older Relative Spot Scams guide is built for that conversation. It has a family "pause and check" agreement to fill in, step-by-step phone settings, and a card of who to call. It's a £9 plain-English UK guide, a digital download. It can't stop every scam. It gives everyone the same plan.

See the Helping an Older Relative kit

Sources

• Report Fraud, "Report Fraud Alert: More than £86,000 stolen in nine days by fraudsters posing as Amazon", 30 October 2026
• Amazon Customer Service, "How to identify fake phone calls" and "Report a scam"
• Trading Standards Scotland, "Amazon Scams"
• Stop! Think Fraud, "What to do if your identity has been stolen"
• Report Fraud, "Identity fraud and identity theft"

Secordit Intelligence Ltd, company no. 17050740