Urgent: Amazon Warns Over 200 Million Users Worldwide of a Surge in "Phishing Scams" Targeting Prime Members

1. Background

• There are over 200 million Prime members worldwide.

• On July 16, 2025, Amazon announced via its official blog and email to "beware of fake emails impersonating Prime renewals."Tom's Guide

• Forbes reported "220 Million Customers Under Attack."Forbes

2. Scam Flow

1. A fake email arrives. The subject line is something like "Confirm Amazon Prime Renewal Fee."

2. The body mimics official logos and color schemes. The sender's domain is also made to look similar.

3. Clicking the "Cancel here" button redirects to a fake site.

4. Users are prompted to enter login information and card numbers.

5. The perpetrator immediately accesses the account to make purchases or resell gift cards.Tom's Guide

3. Technologies Used

• AI Writing: Inserts personal names and purchase history into the body to create a sense of trust.

• Domain Fronting: Makes the URL appear legitimate at first glance.

• Voice Bots: Use automated voice to announce "Account Suspension" and send SMS links.

4. Multi-Channel Attacks

Check Point identified over 1,200 fake Amazon domains before Prime Day.Tom's Guide

5. Additional Risks for Foreign Users

• Mixed Japanese and English emails make judgment difficult.

• Customer support may be available only in Japanese.

• Increased security checks when using VPNs or foreign-issued cards, making it easy to mistake for fake contact.

6. Case Studies

Case 1
A U.S. citizen, Mr. A, received an email stating "Prime renewal fee will double." After entering card details at the linked site, 300,000 yen worth of gift cards were purchased within minutes.

Case 2
A French citizen, Mr. B, received an automated Japanese phone call and changed his password at the provided URL. Subsequently, he was unable to log in, and 50,000 yen was withdrawn from his bank account.

7. Seven Countermeasures

1. Use official apps and bookmarks

2. Check notifications in the message center

3. Set up two-factor authentication or passkeys

4. Do not reuse passwords

5. Check card statements weekly

6. Forward suspicious emails to report@amazon.com

7. Contact your card company and the police immediately if victimized

8. Corporate and Authority Responses

• Amazon introduced "Account Health Rating" to automatically halt abnormal purchases.

• The FBI and Japan's National Police Agency are jointly tracking IP addresses.

• The EU plans to start "Brand Impersonation Notification Mandate" from September 2025.

9. New Threats in the Age of Generative AI

• Increase in phone calls claiming to be "Amazon Customer" using voice deepfakes.

• Image generation used to forge receipts that look real, exploited for refund fraud.

• Real-time chat scams using LLMs are becoming common.

10. Conclusion

• Scams are becoming more sophisticated each year. Be cautious of short links and domains that look genuine.

• Be skeptical of urgent words like "Hurry" or "Act Now."

• Manually entering the URL of legitimate sites is fundamental.

• Foreign users are more likely to receive multilingual scam emails.

• Security measures should focus on "layered defense + immediate verification."
  
  
  
  

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  🔗 Reference Articles (Click to Open)

  • 👉 Tom’s Guide｜Over 200 million Amazon Prime customers warned about scammers

  • 👉 Forbes｜Amazon Warns 220 Million Customers Of Prime Account Attacks

  • 👉 Malwarebytes Labs｜Amazon warns 200 million Prime customers that scammers are after their login info

  • 👉 The Guardian｜‘Scamazon’ – how fake emails are targeting Prime subscribers

  • 👉 ABC3340｜Amazon warns all Prime customers of impersonation scams