Amazon Scam Call or Text About an Order: Real or Fake?

A call or text says it’s Amazon: there’s suspicious activity or an order you didn’t make, your Prime membership is renewing, your account is locked, or you’re owed a refund. Here’s how to check if it’s real without using anything in the message, what Amazon says it never asks for, and what to do if you already paid or shared something.

How to check if an Amazon call or text is real

You don’t have to decide whether the caller is real. Check your account yourself.

1. Stop. Amazon says to hang up and contact it yourself through its website or app (Amazon). If it’s a recorded message, don’t press any numbers (FTC). Don’t call back the number that called you or one left in a voicemail or text (FTC), and don’t tap links in the message or reply to it (FTC).
2. Open the Amazon app, or type amazon.com into your browser. Worried about a purchase? “Log in through the website or app,” the FTC says.
3. Check Your Orders. “Only legitimate purchases will appear in your order history,” according to Amazon.
4. Check Message Center in your account. It holds every email Amazon sends: “If the email doesn’t appear in Message Center, then it wasn’t sent by Amazon” (Amazon).
5. Check Prime yourself. Sign in and, under Your Account, select Prime Membership to see your membership or make a payment (Amazon).
6. Still unsure? Contact Customer Service through the Amazon app or website (Amazon), or forward the message to verify@amazon.com, an option on Amazon’s scam help page (Amazon).

Can the number or the text prove it’s Amazon?

No. “Scammers spoof their phone number to make it look like it’s Amazon calling,” the FTC warns. Don’t look up a number to call, either. Amazon says not to call numbers from texts, emails or online search results (Amazon), and the FBI says customer support numbers in “sponsored” results are often boosted by search engine advertising (FBI IC3).

Amazon may text you about orders, payments, deliveries or account status. But it “will never ask you via text message to provide personal information, payment details, gift card codes, or call a phone number” (Amazon). To tell real texts apart, Amazon suggests turning on notifications in its shopping app, which it sends along with its texts (Amazon).

What Amazon says it will never ask for

If someone asks you to…	What Amazon or the FTC says
Share your password or a one-time code	“We will never ask for your password, OTP, gift card details, bank card details or any other confidential information over the phone” (Amazon).
Pay for an order or a fee by phone or email	Amazon won’t ask for payment “over the phone or email—only in our mobile app, on our website, or in one of our physical stores” (Amazon).
Buy gift cards	“We will never ask you to purchase a gift card” (Amazon). Some scammers call them “verification cards” (Amazon).
Install an app or let them into your device	Amazon says it won’t ask you to install software to reach customer service or to grant remote access to your device (Amazon).
Move your money to “protect” it	“Do not transfer money or drain your savings to protect it from fraud” (FTC).
Keep the call a secret	“No one legitimate will tell you to keep it a secret” (FTC).

Common Amazon scam calls and texts

In 2023, people filed about 34,000 reports with the FTC about scammers pretending to be Amazon. Only scammers posing as Best Buy or its Geek Squad brand drew more reports (FTC, May 2024); see how to check a Geek Squad invoice or renewal email. Fake fraud alerts, texts that “often look like they’re from a bank or Amazon,” were among the top text scams of 2024 (FTC, April 2025). Common versions:

• A suspicious purchase or an order you didn’t make. Often a big-ticket item, with a number to call or a request to text back YES or NO (FTC). Scammers push you to confirm or cancel fast, and may ask for payment details, a software install or gift cards (Amazon). The most common tactic Amazon saw in 2025 was a phone call asking for credit card details “to pay for a recent order” (Amazon, June 2026). Check: Your Orders.
• A Prime renewal or membership fee. The message says a fee is owed or there’s a problem with your membership, then asks for payment or bank account information “to reinstate a membership” (Amazon). Callers may also claim your “subscription is expiring” to rush you (Amazon). Check: Your Account, then Prime Membership.
• A locked, suspended or hacked account. You’re told your account “will be suspended or deleted unless you take specific action,” like clicking a link or giving payment details or your login. Amazon says it never asks for your password over the phone or on any outside website (Amazon). Check: sign in through the app or website and look at your account details.
• A refund you’re owed. A text says an item you bought failed a “routine quality inspection” or was recalled, and offers a full refund through a link. It’s phishing (FTC, July 2025). Amazon says it doesn’t send text messages about recalls (Amazon). Or a fake rep with remote access “refunds” you too much and asks for the difference back, often in gift cards (FTC). Check: Your Orders, or Amazon’s Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts page.
• Buy gift cards or move your money. The story often ends with a request to transfer funds or load cash into a Bitcoin ATM to “protect” it (FTC). Callers may add that your Social Security number was used to open accounts, or that you’ll be arrested. The FTC says not to believe either. To look for accounts you don’t recognize, get your free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com (FTC). Check: nothing. Hang up.

About real Prime refunds: under the FTC’s Amazon Prime settlement, Amazon is sending automatic refunds to eligible Prime customers through April 2027, by check, PayPal or Venmo. If you’re eligible, you don’t need to do anything. The FTC says “no one from Amazon will ever ask you for money to get a refund” (FTC). More: settlement check or email: real or scam?

Already answered? What to do now

Find your situation below. If more than one fits, do each.

You didn’t share anything or pay

Don’t reply. Report the call or text (see below), then delete the message (FTC). Tapped a link but didn’t type anything? See what to do if you clicked a phishing link.

You gave your Amazon password or a one-time code

1. Change your Amazon password now. Amazon says to use its Password Assistance page and “change it immediately” (Amazon).
2. Turn on Two-Step Verification, which Amazon recommends (Amazon).
3. Change that password anywhere else you use it (FTC).
4. Look for changes. Check Your Orders for purchases you didn’t make (Amazon), and contact Customer Service through the app or website (Amazon).
5. Tell Amazon. On its Report a scam page, choose “I have shared Amazon account information.”

You gave card or bank details

Call your card issuer or bank using the number on the back of your card or in its app. Tell them what happened and ask them to refund your money (FTC). On Amazon’s Report a scam page, choose “I have shared Banking information.” Step by step: I gave a scammer my credit card number or my bank account number. Gave your Social Security number too? See what to do now.

You paid with gift cards, Zelle or crypto

Contact the company you used right away and ask it to reverse the payment or refund your money (FTC):

• Gift cards: call the gift card company, say a scammer tricked you into giving them the card number and PIN, and keep the card and receipt. Hurry: Amazon warns that once a scammer has a claim code, the money will likely be spent before you can reach the police or Amazon (Amazon). Full steps: I paid a scammer with gift cards.
• Zelle or a bank transfer: call your bank. See I paid a scammer through Zelle.
• Crypto or a Bitcoin ATM: contact the exchange or ATM operator and say it was a fraudulent transaction. See paid a scammer at a Bitcoin ATM.

You let them into your computer or phone

Update your security software, run a scan and delete anything it flags. Then change your passwords and turn on two-factor authentication (FTC). On Amazon’s Report a scam page, choose “I have given remote access to my computer/devices.” If you logged into your bank while they were connected, follow I let a scammer into my computer.

The scam recovery checklist can turn your answers into a step-by-step list.

Can I get my money back?

Maybe. It depends on how you paid and how fast you report it. Your money might be gone already, but the FTC says “it’s always worth asking the company you used to send the money if there’s a way to get it back” (FTC).

• Credit and debit cards: federal law protects you from unauthorized use of your card. Paid the scammer yourself? Still report it and ask for a refund (FTC).
• Crypto: it doesn’t have the same legal protections as cards, so it can be hard to get back (FTC).
• Money you moved yourself: call your bank right away. The Zelle guide explains what banks may refund.

How to report an Amazon scam call or text

1. Amazon. Use its Report a scam page, or type amazon.com/reportascam (Amazon), and pick the option that matches what you shared. No Amazon account? Email reportascam@amazon.com and attach the suspicious message. Amazon can’t reply personally, but you may get an automatic confirmation (Amazon).
2. FTC. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For a call, include the number on your caller ID, any number you were told to call back, and the date and time (FTC).
3. Texts and emails. Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) or use your phone’s “report junk” option (FTC). Forward phishing emails to reportphishing@apwg.org (FTC).
4. FBI. If you lost money, also file at IC3.gov. Include the websites, phone numbers and email addresses the scammer used, and the accounts that received your money (FBI IC3).
5. If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is: call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311), Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. A case manager will help you report it (Office for Victims of Crime).

The report-a-scam tool lists official channels by type of scam.

Watch for the follow-up scam

• The hand-off. A fake Amazon employee may pass you to a fake bank, FBI or FTC employee “for fake help.” Anyone who tells you to buy gift cards or move money to protect it is a scammer (FTC).
• Fake FTC calls about Amazon refunds. The FTC isn’t contacting people about refunds in the Amazon case, so a caller who says they’re from the FTC is a scammer (FTC).
• Recovery offers. Scammers buy and trade lists of people who have already paid scammers. Government agencies and legitimate organizations “will never ask for money to help you get a refund” (FTC).
• A second “Amazon” call about your report. Treat it like the first: hang up, then check your account in the app or on amazon.com.

What varies

• How you paid. Cards, bank transfers, gift cards and crypto follow different rules, and whether a payment can be reversed depends on the company you used (FTC).
• Your state. For crypto losses, some states have passed laws that might help (FTC).
• Prime refunds. Only eligible Prime customers get settlement payments, and each payment expires 60 days after it’s issued (FTC).