Amazon warns its 310 million-plus users of fraud and hacking as Black Friday sale 2025 goes live: How to stay safe
Amazon has reportedly issued a critical security warning to its user base in the US. The company has sent an email to its customers on November 24 as the massive Black Friday 2025 shopping event gets fully underway. In this security advisory, the e-commerce giant urged its active users – estimated to be 310 million as per Forbes – to remain highly vigilant against a surge of fraud and scams targeting online shoppers.
Forbes said that the retail giant becomes a prime target for scammers, hackers and impersonation fraud, and to apprise users of these cybercrimes, Amazon sent an email to its customer base on November 24 cautioning against attacks designed to gain “access to sensitive information like personal or financial information, or Amazon account details.”
The warning follows a recent report which claimed that cybercriminals are specifically targeting big brands using sophisticated impersonation processes, often involving browser notifications and criminal platforms.
How to stay safe from fraud and scam
Amazon’s email outlined several common attack methods customers should be alert to, particularly during the high-traffic holiday shopping period:
To help customers protect themselves, users must:
Forbes said that the retail giant becomes a prime target for scammers, hackers and impersonation fraud, and to apprise users of these cybercrimes, Amazon sent an email to its customer base on November 24 cautioning against attacks designed to gain “access to sensitive information like personal or financial information, or Amazon account details.”
The warning follows a recent report which claimed that cybercriminals are specifically targeting big brands using sophisticated impersonation processes, often involving browser notifications and criminal platforms.
How to stay safe from fraud and scam
Amazon’s email outlined several common attack methods customers should be alert to, particularly during the high-traffic holiday shopping period:
- Fake messages: Receiving messages claiming there are delivery problems or issues with the customer's Amazon account.
- Deceptive advertising: Third-party advertisements, particularly on social media, that promote suspiciously deep discounts.
- Unofficial contact: Messages or unsolicited tech support phone calls requesting account or payment information.
- Suspicious links: Being directed to unfamiliar links via email or text to verify credentials.
To help customers protect themselves, users must:
- Use official channels: Always use the official Amazon mobile app or website for all account changes, customer service, delivery tracking and processing refunds.
- Enable 2FA: Set up two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever available to prevent unauthorised access to online accounts.
- Use passkeys: Utilise passkeys, an alternative to passwords that use biometric data (face, fingerprint, or PIN) to sign in.
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