Amazon Prime Day falls on June 21 and 22 and in mere days, thousands of deals will be launched. Consumers will be able to get a bargain on a huge range of products from home appliances to computers but warnings have been issued on rising scam likelihoods.
Tony Pepper, the CEO of Egress, commented on this and warned of the emerging dangers.
He said: "Prime Day presents a perfect opportunity for scammers to try to steal your details – or even your money – using phishing emails.
"Last year’s Prime Day promotion saw Action Fraud inundated with hundreds of reports of suspicious emails, and it’s likely that cybercriminals will try to take advantage of Amazon customers once again.
"Email scams can be highly convincing, and sometimes they’re almost impossible to tell apart from the real deal.
READ MORE: HMRC updates guidance on how to report scams - full details
According to Action Fraud itself, phishing emails can be particularly dangerous for consumers caught unawares.
It detailed cyber criminals will use fake messages as bait to lure people into clicking on links within their scam email or text message, or to give away sensitive information (such as bank details).
These messages, it warned, often look like the "real thing" but are malicious.
Once these links and/or messages are clicked, consumers may be sent to a "dodgy" website which could download viruses onto a computer, or steal passwords.
Where claimants feel they have received a suspicious email, they should forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk.
Following this, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will analyse the suspect email and any websites it links to.
They'll also use any additional information consumers provide to look for and monitor suspicious activity.
Should it discover activity that they believe is malicious, it may then take further action.
Where claimants feel they have received a suspicious email, they should forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk.
Following this, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will analyse the suspect email and any websites it links to.
They'll also use any additional information consumers provide to look for and monitor suspicious activity.
Should it discover activity that they believe is malicious, it may then take further action.
This can include the following:
- It'll seek to block the address the email came from, so it can no longer send emails
- It'll work with hosting companies to remove links to malicious websites
- It'll raise awareness of commonly reported suspicious emails and methods used (via partners)
In recent months, Action Fraud has issued a number of warnings as the economy slowly reopens and on top of Amazon Prime Day, consumers have been urged to watch out for ticket fraud, holiday fraud and festival scams.
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