By: Ina Steiner

Fraudsters are targeting sellers in various emails purporting to be from Amazon or its supposed partners. Phishing emails are nothing new, but they may be ramping up for the holidays.

Here are two emails that readers forwarded to us in the past two days to warn other sellers. The first seller said the email he received looked official with all the Amazon logos but was not sent from an Amazon address. 'Please warn everyone not to click on anything in this email,' they advised:

Greetings from Amazon

We have placed a hold on your Amazon account and all pending orders.

We took this action the billing information you provided did not match the information on file with the card issuer.

To resolve this issue, please verify now with the billing name, address, and telephone number registered to your payment card. if you have recently moved, you may need to update this information with the card issuer.

Verify Now

If we are unable to complete the verification process within 3 days, all pending orders will be cancelled. You will not be able to access your account until this process has been completed.

We ask that you not open new accounts as any new order you place may be delayed.

We appreciate your patience with our security measures.

Amazon Services Team

The second reader said the email he received purported to be from Synchrony Bank with the subject line, 'A Trial Deposit Has Been Successfully Made to Your AMAZON CREDITBUILDER'. He wasn't sure if it was a phishing email or a glitch (see update below), but said he had not ordered anything from Amazon in over a year and had great credit with a credit score over 770, so wasn't in need of such a service:

A Trial Deposit Has Been Successfully Made to Your AMAZON CREDITBUILDER

Note: This email was sent to you by Synchrony Bank, the issuer of your AMAZON CREDITBUILDER Account. You may receive account servicing emails even if you have requested not to receive marketing offers by email for your AMAZON CREDITBUILDER Account. Synchrony Bank is located at 170 Election Road, Suite 125, Draper, Utah, 84020, USA.

This is an unmonitored email box. Please do not reply to this email.

Head off identity theft before it happens. For more information about identity theft, please visit the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) consumer website at www.ftc.gov/idtheft/.

It's a good reminder to stay alert especially with all of the distractions this busy Thanksgiving holiday week.

Update 11/25/19: Synchrony posted on Facebook it was a glitch (hat tip to Brian Krebs):

On Monday, November 25, 2019, some customers received an email or text message from us regarding a 'trial deposit has been successfully made' or 'action required on your application' in error.

We have confirmed no personal data was compromised. We apologize for the error and regret any concerns this may have caused. We are taking action to ensure this cannot happen again.

If you received one of these emails or text messages, please disregard it and no further action is required.

We sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding.

Comments (3) Permalink

by: iheartjacksparrow

Beware of phishing phone calls! I've had two in the last few weeks supposedly from Amazon Prime. The first one came to my cell phone (which Amazon doesn't have) with a recorded message informing me that my Prime account was up for renewal. I hung up because I was okay with that and I'm on an auto-renew plan. Then I realized they could not possibly call me on that number, so I checked my account and it's not up for renewal until February 2020. I assume they were scammers who were trying to get my credit card number.
The second call came two days ago on my house phone. The recorded message stated I was going to be billed $19.95 a month for Prime, which would make the total cost almost double what I'm paying now. Again I hung up.
So if anyone gets phone calls from 'Amazon Prime,' whether you subscribe to the service or not, hang up!

by: Moonwishes
Web Site

I've been getting all sorts of phishing emails in the last bit, well more than normal. One of the biggest clues is the email address it was sent from and whether it has a click here spot in the email. Most big business know that we are pretty well trained to not click on random emails.
The phishers are so stupid. I can't believe how many times I have been on Amazon doing my thing or on PP and then check my mail and find these warning that they are going to do evil things to my account unless I click here to verify. Well being as I was just there, I figure if they wanted me to do something, they would have made be aware of it while on the site.
I must be about due for my weekly Nigerian widow email. They add a smile to my day since I can read the whole thing in my junk mail, so I don't have to click on anything. The one thing I can never understand is why this widow thinks that we have more destitute people in the US than there are in Nigeria. Why isn't she using her millions to benefit her own people. I know the whole thing is a fake, but something they should think about, but then they couldn't get greedy people to try and help embezzle money from the country. I heard on a PBS documentary once that most of the folks that fall for these scams are doctors!

by: Fahrenheit451
Web Site

It is more than just Amazon impersonators. As the holiday shopping season goes forward, expect even more such emails and phone calls. Fortunately, I have a limited flip phone so I don't have any way to click on the links. But smart phones are fair game to these hucksters. When I get an email, I never click on the link, but go directly to whatever site they claim to be from and check there.
I haven't used Amazon for anything since 2018, so anything 'happening' to my account is no concern to me.