Amazon text scam: “account locked” or “order can’t be shipped”?

Fake Amazon texts about a locked account, a suspicious order or a Prime charge are surging — especially around big sale events. Here’s the tell, and a free link check.

What’s happening

Texts and emails impersonating Amazon are one of the highest-volume impersonation scams, and Amazon itself has warned they surge around Prime Day and the holidays. Common versions say your account is “locked” over a billing problem, that a suspicious order or an expensive item (a phone, a TV) is being shipped, or that your Prime membership auto-renewed — each with a link or number to “cancel” or “fix” it.

The link opens a page that copies the Amazon sign-in to steal your email, password and payment details; the phone-number variant routes you to a fake “account specialist” who talks you into buying gift cards or granting remote access to “refund” a charge you never made.

Amazon will never ask for payment outside its own platform, never asks for your password or a verification code over the phone, and legitimate account changes live in Your Orders / Your Account when you go to the app or site yourself. Don’t tap the link — paste it for an instant risk score, then check your account by opening the Amazon app directly.