ATLANTA — As shoppers gear up for Amazon Prime Day, cybersecurity experts warn scammers are ramping up their efforts too.
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One fake message recently blocked by cybersecurity company Check Point masqueraded as an Amazon fraud alert, telling shoppers there was a problem with their account. Experts say messages like these are designed to trick people into clicking malicious links.
Consumer Investigator Justin Gray took examples of fake messages posing as Amazon and showed them to some of the most tech-savvy people around: Georgia Tech students.
“I mean, it looks so real, so you can’t even tell the difference,” said Bhavin Shah of Johns Creek, a Georgia Tech student.
Check Point Software Technologies researcher Aaron Rose said scammers are not just sending fake emails and texts. They’re also using powerful new AI tools available to anyone to clone legitimate websites, creating fake versions that look nearly identical to the real thing in minutes.
“It only takes 30 seconds to a couple (of) minutes to register a new domain and then clone a known good website,” Rose said.
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Rose said those fake websites can show up in Google search results right alongside legitimate shopping sites.
Earlier this summer, Channel 2 Action News showed how a fake website tricked consumer Nick Saunders while he was shopping online for a Barbie Dream House. Scammers allegedly ended up charging thousands of dollars to his credit card.
“It came up looking like Wayfair,” Saunders said. “The background all said Wayfair with the purple letters on it.”
Experts say major online shopping events such as Amazon Prime Day create a prime opportunity for scammers.
“Nearly 1,300 new domains have been created in less than a month, and all of those were related or had a theme that followed along with the Amazon Prime Day deals,” Rose said.
WSB Consumer Adviser Clark Howard says shoppers should avoid clicking links in emails, texts and social media posts and instead go directly to a retailer’s website.
“The key is go to the dot-com you know it to be, instead of clicking on a link that comes in an email, that comes into a text, or that shows up on social media,” Howard said.
Experts say criminals can create some of these fake websites in as little as 30 seconds, making it difficult for search engines and companies to keep up. Their advice is simple: slow down and go straight to the source rather than clicking on a link.
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