Scammers are using Amazon to extract money from individuals. A new practice which causes many victims in France.
Police are warning of a new form of scam, linked to the e-commerce giant Amazon. A Haute-Savoie gendarmerie recently spotted a new scheme aimed at extorting money from individuals looking for good deals. If this still little-known modus operandi was able to be revealed, it is because crooks simply tried it on the wrong person: a police officer specializing in tracking down scams. Chief Warrant Officer Nicolas Renaud, who operates for the judicial support cell of the Haute-Savoie departmental gendarmerie group, received at the end of April, at his home in Annecy, a letter signed by Amazon which, at first sight, thanked him for his loyalty and invited him to test a new product in exchange for a voucher (up to 40 euros).
But the gendarme is not fooled, he noticed several inconsistencies. “What tipped me off was the quality of the support, the printing, the closing words of the letter: ‘all my best wishes’, and above all an email address that did not correspond not at all Amazon,” he told Franceinfo. It was finally by showing the mail to his colleagues that the investigations began.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the scammers pretend to be Amazon employees and send a letter by post offering remuneration in exchange for a product test. A QR Code, also present on the letter, invites the individual to accept the test. By flashing the QR Code, victims are sent to a site which asks them to provide as much personal information as possible (last name, first name, address, bank card number, etc.).
Using this information, the scammers contact the victim, this time pretending to be their bank advisor. On the phone, they indicate that they have spotted suspicious movements on the victim’s account and ask him to validate banking transactions, to then extract money from them. In some cases, the criminals manage to extract several thousand euros from their interlocutor, who obviously thinks they are dealing with their bank.
A scam that starts in the mailbox seems a little outdated. In reality, this allows scammers to slip through the cracks. A postal letter also seems more official, which is what often deceives victims. Especially since when the scammers end up contacting them, they are able to give personal information that a bank advisor has in their possession. And above all, the victims remember the form stamped “Amazon”, which they received a few weeks earlier. A guarantee of confidence…
By the time they understand what is happening to them, the money has already passed through another account, often outside the borders of the EU, which does not make the work of investigators any easier. According to the gendarme, “it is more and more difficult, because criminals exploit the evolution of society and its weaknesses. […] There is also an evolution in the banking landscape, because now, in a few clicks, you can make almost instantaneous transfers abroad, whereas we, the police, take several days, even several weeks to locate and try to block the funds that would have gone abroad.