Online Shopping Scams Are Popping Up Ahead of Amazon Prime Day – Here’s What the BBB Wants You to Know

Amazon Prime Day is almost here, and with it comes a familiar surge in deals—and scams. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) issued a warning on June 22, 2026, alerting shoppers that fraudsters are ramping up efforts to take advantage of the shopping frenzy. If you’re planning to buy anything during Prime Day or the competing sales that follow, it’s worth knowing what to look out for and how to protect yourself.

What Happened

The BBB’s alert, reported by WBKO, highlights a pattern that repeats every major shopping event: an increase in phishing emails, fake websites, and too-good-to-be-true offers that impersonate Amazon or well-known brands. The scams typically arrive via email, text, or social media messages that appear to come from Amazon itself or from sellers with incredible discounts. Some of these messages contain links that lead to lookalike login pages designed to steal your credentials. Others push “exclusive” deals that require you to pay outside the normal checkout process.

The BBB specifically notes that scammers often use urgency to pressure people into acting quickly—before they have time to double-check a URL or verify the offer. With Prime Day now just a few days away, these messages are likely to multiply.

Why It Matters

Prime Day is one of the busiest online shopping periods of the year. In 2025, Amazon reported record sales during the event, and this year is expected to be similar. The combination of limited-time deals, high traffic, and distracted shoppers creates ideal conditions for fraud. Once a scammer gets your credit card number, your Amazon password, or your personal information, it can be used for identity theft or unauthorized purchases. And because many of these scams feel legitimate—they often use real Amazon logos and convincing email templates—even cautious shoppers can be fooled.

Beyond financial loss, there’s the hassle of dealing with compromised accounts, reversing charges, and reporting the fraud. The BBB’s warning is a reminder that a little caution before clicking can save a lot of trouble later.

What Readers Can Do

The BBB’s recommendations are straightforward and easy to follow. Here are the most important steps:

  • Verify the sender. If you get an email or text claiming to be from Amazon, don’t click any links in the message. Go directly to Amazon’s website or app and check your account or order status there.
  • Inspect URLs closely. Fraudsters often use addresses like “amazon-prime-deal.com” or “amzn.co/offer” that look right at first glance. Look for subtle misspellings or extra characters.
  • Avoid paying outside the platform. Scammers may ask you to send money via wire transfer, gift cards, or peer-to-peer apps to “secure” a deal. Legitimate sellers on Amazon process payments through Amazon’s system.
  • Use a credit card or a payment service like PayPal. These offer buyer protection if something goes wrong. Debit cards have weaker safeguards, and wire transfers are nearly impossible to reverse.
  • Enable two-factor authentication on your Amazon account. This adds an extra layer of security so that even if your password is stolen, scammers can’t log in.
  • Look for red flags in the message itself. Poor grammar, generic greetings (like “Dear Customer” instead of your name), and promises of huge discounts for a “limited time” are common warning signs.

If you do fall for a scam, act quickly: contact your bank or credit card issuer to dispute the charge, change your Amazon password immediately, and report the incident to the BBB’s Scam Tracker and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Sources

  • BBB warning issued June 22, 2026, as reported by WBKO.
  • BBB Scam Tracker and Amazon’s official security pages.

Prime Day is a great time to score real bargains, but it’s also a time when fake ones circulate. Taking a few extra seconds to verify a deal can keep your money and personal information safe. Stay sharp, and happy shopping.