Merry Christmas Amazon Prime Day! While you're busy clicking away to your heart's content on all the fashion, beauty, home, kitchen, and tech deals that the internet has to offer, be sure you're doing it safely. According to Webroot's Annual Threat report, Amazon is one of the top 20 companies implicated in phishing attempts — so it's crucial that shoppers use caution when clicking links and cashing in on deals, especially during this time of high traffic to the site. Ahead, some tips to keep in mind.
Be sure that when you browse Amazon's offerings, you do so by typing Amazon.com into your browser — rather than clicking out from a suspicious email. Emails can direct you to fraudulent sites that look like Amazon, where your sensitive information can be stolen. If you get an email claiming to be from Amazon with an outgoing link, be sure to check the email address before you click it. If it's from @amazon.com, you should be in the clear, but otherwise, if the address looks off or has obvious misspellings, steer clear and instead report it to the Federal Trade Commission. This is especially true of emails advertising false Prime Day coupon codes — so keep your eyes peeled. (Also, if you're being asked to fill in your bank account number or Social Security number, this should be a dead giveaway of a phishing attempt.)
If you want to be extra careful, it's always a good idea to set up two-factor verification, which prompts you to fill in a unique security code in addition to your account password on new devices and browsers and better protects your account from being hacked.
Similarly, you should be wary of fake reviews on Amazon products, which are reportedly on the rise, especially when it comes to tech gadgets. If you're considering a highly-rated product whose seller you're unfamiliar with, check out its ratings. If its five-star rating count seems too good to be true, that might be a good indicator that either the seller paid people to write fake positive reviews or that they were written by bots (especially if they're written strangely). Be sure to view comments in order of oldest to most recent so that you're not just seeing the most popular comments, either. Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way — happy Prime Day shopping! Carry on.