Beware of These False Scam Warnings From Apple and Amazon.
If you receive a pop-up warning about an unauthorized charge on one of your accounts while browsing the web, don’t panic or act impulsively. Scammers are currently using these warnings to impersonate Apple and Amazon (and possibly other companies) customer support, convincing people that their accounts have been hacked and need to be verified to prevent further fraudulent activity. Naturally, this is simply a ruse designed to gain access to your device or accounts, which will cause far more damage than the false warning itself.
How does unauthorized chargeback scam work?
This scam, described by Malwarebytes Labs , begins with a browser pop-up window that appears over an Apple or Amazon website. The notifications appear to be legitimate and state that the user’s Apple ID or Amazon account was recently used to make a purchase of $149.99. Victims are urged to immediately call the provided support number (the same number in both pop-ups) to prevent further unauthorized activity. The scammer on the other end of the line may try to convince you to download a tool that grants remote access to your device, hand over your credentials, or even pay to protect your account.
If you Google the number provided in this particular ad campaign, you’ll find a fake Amazon support website (“amazonhelp[dot]support”) created by the scammers to make the scheme appear more credible—of course, the real Amazon customer service website is hosted on amazon.com. Other signs of a scam include artificial urgency, technical jargon, and a dollar amount that’s just enough to attract attention, but not so high as to be considered an obvious scam.
Learn to recognize notifications about fraudulent transactions.
First of all, no reputable company will send you security alerts via browser pop-ups. If there’s a problem with your account, you may receive an in-app notification or email, although the latter should be treated with caution as it’s also a common scam. To confirm the authenticity of these alerts, log in to your account by going directly to the website or app and check your message history or activity log.
It’s also worth noting that you won’t be able to dispute fraudulent transactions with customer support over the phone. In fact, it’s much more likely to contact your bank or credit card issuer directly, and if you make a suspicious purchase, you may first receive a fraud alert from your financial institution. Calling a number that appears in a browser pop-up window is not the best option. Don’t give out your account information over the phone unless you’ve verified the number, for example, by clicking a link in the company’s app, and initiated the call yourself.
Finally, these fake pop-ups may be the result of malware, browser redirects, or hacked websites used in phishing campaigns. If you see such a pop-up, immediately close the tab and do not click or interact with it further.