Is This Amazon Text a Scam? Check It in 30 Seconds
Quick answer: A surprise Amazon text about a refund, a delivery problem, or a suspended account is almost always a scam. Real Amazon texts never ask for a password, a card number, or a payment by text. Do not tap the link. Open the Amazon app yourself, check Your Orders, and forward the text to 7726.
Amazon is the store most Americans shop at, and scammers know it. In 2023, Amazon was one of the three companies scammers pretended to be most often, alongside Best Buy's Geek Squad and PayPal, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That year, the FTC received about 332,000 reports of business impersonation scams, and reported losses passed $660 million. It has only grown since. In 2025, the FTC received more than a million reports about imposter scams, with reported losses of $3.5 billion. Imposter scams were the number one scam for the ninth year in a row.
Text messages are a favorite way in. In 2024, people reported $470 million in losses to scams that started with a text, more than five times the 2020 figure. Fake package delivery problems were the most reported kind. This page shows you the four Amazon text scams going around now. You will also see what a real Amazon text looks like, how to check any message in 30 seconds, and what to do if you already tapped the link.
What the scam text looks like
Most fake Amazon texts follow one of four scripts. The words change slightly, but the shape never does: a problem, an urgent fix, and a link or a number that is not Amazon's. The examples below are typical wordings seen in the wild, not messages copied from a real victim.
- The refund or recall text. "Amazon: A routine quality inspection found an item you bought does not meet our standards. It has been recalled. Tap here for a full refund. No return needed." The Federal Trade Commission warned about this exact text in July 2025. There is no refund. The link opens a fake login page built to steal your password.
- The delivery problem. "Amazon: Your package could not be delivered. Confirm your address and pay a $1.99 redelivery fee: [link]" Amazon does not charge a redelivery fee by text. The small amount is bait for your card number.
- The suspended account. "Amazon: Suspicious activity on your account. Your account will be suspended in 24 hours. Call [number] to verify." The caller will ask for your password, a code from your phone, or gift cards to "unlock" the account. Amazon never suspends an account by text, and it never asks you to call a number in a message.
- The order you never placed. "Amazon: Your order for a $1,200 laptop has shipped. If this was not you, call [number] to cancel." There is no laptop and no order. The number connects to a scammer who will walk you through "cancelling" it by handing over your account.
The urgency is the point. A countdown, a suspension threat, or a refund that expires today is there to stop you thinking. Slow down anyway. A real Amazon problem waits for you in your account. A scam chases you in a text.
Real vs. fake, side by side
A side-by-side check makes the difference obvious. If the text in your hand matches the right-hand column on even one row, treat it as a scam.
| Check | Real Amazon text | Fake Amazon text |
|---|---|---|
| The order | About an order you placed, shown in Your Orders | About an order you never placed, or a surprise problem |
| The link | Goes to amazon.com, or there is no link at all | Goes anywhere else, even if it has amazon in the name |
| What it asks for | Nothing. No password, no card, no gift card, no call | A password, a card, gift card codes, or a phone call |
| The deadline | No countdown | Act in 24 hours or lose the account, the refund, or the package |
| The sender | Only texts you signed up for | A surprise text you never asked for |
| Where to check | Your Orders and the Message Center in the app | Only through the link or number in the text |
How to tell an Amazon text scam in 30 seconds
Four questions, in order. The first one that points to a scam ends the check.
- Were you expecting an Amazon order or a problem with one? If not, stop. A text about an order you never placed is a scam, whatever it says.
- Does it ask for a password, a card, gift cards, or a phone call? If yes, it is a scam. Amazon never asks for any of those things by text.
- Long-press the link, do not tap it, and read the address after https://. If it is not amazon.com, it is not Amazon. A link that says amazon in the middle of a longer address, or ends in .xyz or .click, is fake.
- Is it in Your Orders or the Message Center? Open the Amazon app yourself, not through the text. If the order or the problem is not shown there, the text did not come from Amazon.
One more rule, and it makes the rest of this page simple: a sender number proves nothing. Scammers can make any number appear on your screen, including a short number that looks official. Some guides list Amazon's text numbers. Do not trust any sender number by itself. Check Your Orders instead.
What Amazon never does
Amazon's own help pages state the rules plainly, and they are the whole test.
- Amazon will never ask you by text message to provide personal information, payment details, gift card codes, or call a phone number.
- It will never ask for your password, or offer you a refund you did not expect.
- It will never ask you to pay outside its website, for example by bank transfer, by emailing card details, or by sharing gift card details.
- It will never ask for remote access to your device, for example by asking you to install an app.
- Amazon does not send recall notices by text.
A real recall notice comes by email, by a push notification through the Amazon app, or in the "Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts" section inside your account. You can also check any recall claim yourself at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall database. If a message breaks any of these rules, it is not Amazon, no matter how official it looks.
The Federal Trade Commission says the same thing in plainer words: legitimate companies will not ask for information about your account by text. If you think a message might be real, contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real, not the information in the text message.
Message Center and Your Orders: the free fix
The best defense is to make the scam text impossible to believe. Amazon keeps a record of every message it sends you, and you can check it yourself in under a minute.
- Open the Amazon app yourself, or type amazon.com into your browser. Never open it from the text.
- Tap Your Orders. Only real purchases appear there. If the order in the text is not listed, there is no order, and the text is fake.
- Check the Message Center in your account. It holds every email Amazon sends. If the message is not there, Amazon did not send it.
- Check Prime the same way. Sign in, go to Your Account, and open Prime Membership to see your membership or make a payment. Never pay Prime through a link in a text.
After that, the test is simple. If a text arrives about an order or a problem you cannot see in your own account, it is not from Amazon. If the message came by email and you are still unsure, Amazon also offers a verification address, [email protected]. Forward the email there, and Amazon will tell you whether it is genuine. Do not click anything in the message first.
What to do if you clicked, typed something, or paid
- Clicked only, typed nothing: close the page. You are probably fine. The trouble starts when you type something.
- Typed your Amazon password: change it in the Amazon app right away, opened by you, not from the text. Change it anywhere else you used the same password. Turn on two-step verification in your Amazon account settings so a password alone is not enough to get in.
- Typed a card number: call the number on the back of the card the same day. Ask the bank to stop what it still can and give you a new card number.
- Bought gift cards: call the card company right away. Gift card payments are almost never recovered, so speed matters, but be honest with yourself about the odds.
- Gave remote access or installed an app: uninstall the app, then change your Amazon and banking passwords from a different device, and call your bank.
- Gave a Social Security number: that is identity theft territory. Go to IdentityTheft.gov for steps matched to what you shared, and report the theft to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Paid a fee: call your bank or card company right away and dispute the charge. A refund is not guaranteed, and anyone who promises to get your money back for a fee is running a second scam.
Then watch for the second act. Days later, a caller may pose as the fraud department of your bank, or as Amazon, and offer to fix what happened. That call is often a second scam built on the first one. Hang up and call your bank yourself.
And if anything feels rushed or confusing, show the text to someone you trust before you tap anything. A second pair of eyes is the cheapest protection there is.
How to report it
- Forward the text to 7726. That spells SPAM on a phone keypad, and it is the number your carrier wants scam texts sent to. Forwarding to 7726 is free on most US carriers. Do not reply to the text, not even STOP. Replying tells the sender the number is live.
- Report it to Amazon at amazon.com/reportascam, or forward the suspicious message as an attachment to [email protected]. Amazon says sending it as an attachment is the best way for it to track the scam.
- Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- If money was lost, also file a report with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
Then delete the message and block the sender. If the text came with a phone number to call, do not call it. If you need Amazon, contact it through the app or the website you typed yourself.
Got a suspicious text?
Paste it into our free checker for a plain-English verdict before you tap anything.
Check It Now — Free →Frequently asked questions
Is this Amazon text a scam?
A surprise Amazon text about a refund, a delivery problem, or a suspended account is a scam until you prove otherwise in the Amazon app. Open the app yourself, check Your Orders and the Message Center, and if the problem is not shown there, the text is fake. Do not tap the link, do not call the number, and forward the text to 7726.
Does Amazon send text messages?
Yes, but only about orders, payments, deliveries, or account status, and only if you signed up for those updates. A real Amazon text never asks for a password, a card number, gift card codes, or a phone call. If a text asks for any of those things, it is not from Amazon, even if it uses the Amazon name and logo.
Does Amazon ever ask for a password or payment by text?
No. Amazon will never ask you by text message to provide personal information, payment details, gift card codes, or call a phone number. It will never ask for your password or offer you a refund you did not expect. Any text that asks for those things is a scam, whatever it claims.
What does a real Amazon text look like?
It is tied to a real order you placed, and it carries no request for a password, a card, or a payment. Any link in it goes to amazon.com. The surest test is not the text itself: open the Amazon app, check Your Orders, and check the Message Center. If the order or problem is not shown there, the text did not come from Amazon.
I clicked the link in a fake Amazon text. What should I do now?
Close the page. If you typed nothing, you are probably fine. If you typed your Amazon password, change it in the Amazon app right away, and change it anywhere else you used the same password. If you typed a card number, call the number on the back of the card the same day. Watch for follow-up calls from a fake fraud department, which are often a second scam.
I already paid or shared my password. Can I get my money back?
Call your bank or card company right away and dispute the charge, then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov. If you bought gift cards, call the card company too, but be honest with yourself: gift card payments are almost never recovered. A refund is not guaranteed, and anyone who promises to recover the money for a fee is running a second scam.
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Sources: Federal Trade Commission, Scammy Texts Offering "Refunds" for Amazon Purchases (Consumer Alert, July 24, 2025), New Trends in Reports of Imposter Scams (May 2026), Who's Who in Scams: A Spring Roundup (Data Spotlight, May 2024), and Top Text Scams of 2024 (Data Spotlight, April 2025); Amazon Customer Service, Report a Scam, Identify Suspicious / Phishing Correspondence, and amazon.com/reportascam; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls and Product Safety Warnings. Last updated November 2, 2026.