Amazon India alerts shoppers that the festive season brings exciting deals, a wide selection of products, and endless shopping possibilities—but it also sees a rise in fake offers and misleading messages.
With the Great Indian Festival starting on September 23, customers are reminded to stay alert and protect themselves from scammers who could disrupt their online shopping experience.
Scam-Free September Initiative
The company has partnered with the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, to observe Scam-Free September. Awareness campaigns across media and digital platforms aim to help customers identify scams early and shop confidently this festive season.
Common Scam Tactics
Two-thirds of global impersonation scams reported in 2023 involved fake “order” or “account” issues. These scams often start outside the platform—through emails, text messages, messaging apps, or phone calls. Criminals impersonate popular brands to create a false sense of urgency, tricking shoppers into sharing sensitive information or making bogus payments.
Typical Scam Tactics:
- Claims that your account is “suspended”
- Requests to verify an “order” or confirm a “payment”
- Urgent prompts to click links or make payments outside the official site
Quick Verification Steps
Customers are advised to:
- Pause and Verify – Take a few seconds before clicking any link or responding.
- Check ‘Your Orders’ – Open the app or website; if it’s not listed, it’s not real.
- Remember: The company will never ask for payment via phone or email, pressure you to buy gift cards, or ask you to install software for support.
Strengthening Security Measures
It continues to invest in technology and teams to protect customers. Authentic emails now display the Amazon smile logo in major inboxes, and engineers, investigators, and ML scientists work continuously to deter scams. In 2024 alone, tens of thousands of phishing websites and thousands of phone numbers linked to impersonation schemes have been taken down.
Smart Shopping Tips
Customers should:
- Verify purchases in-app: Check ‘Your Orders’ instead of responding to messages.
- Trust official channels only: Payments occur via the app or website—not through random links.
- Ignore false urgency: Take a pause; don’t be rushed.
- Never pay with gift cards for support or “fees”—this is a common scam tactic.
- Contact support directly via the app or website if unsure. Avoid numbers from texts or search results.
- Report suspicious messages: Use the self-service tool if you are a customer, or email reportascam@amazon.com; phishing emails can also be forwarded to stop-spoofing@amazon.com.
Guaranteed Safe Shopping
The company emphasizes that all purchases on Amazon.in are protected by the A-to-Z Guarantee, ensuring coverage in case of delivery or product condition issues. The safest approach is to start and finish your shopping journey on the official app or website, it added.
Speaking about the initiative, Ashwini Samraj, Director, Public Relations & Communications, Amazon India, said:
Festivals should fill your home with joy, not worry. If anything you receive makes your heart race like – ‘act now;’ ‘pay a fee;’ ‘confirm a strange purchase’ – treat that as a red flag, not a reason to click. Log in to the Amazon app or website to verify what’s real, lean on our protections, and report anything suspicious so we can help stop it for you and for others.