The short version: Criminals phone people, pretending to be Amazon. They say items were added to your basket. Then they get you to share your screen, install an app or “authorise” a payment, and take your money. Hang up and check your orders yourself in the Amazon app or by typing amazon.co.uk.
What is happening
On 30 October 2026, Report Fraud warned about fake Amazon calls. It is the fraud reporting service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Callers claim “suspicious activity” on your Amazon account. They say someone is trying to buy items with your bank details.
Callers then ask people to:
- share their screen through a messaging app (so the caller can see it) and download money transfer apps;
- send a passport or driving licence “for verification”;
- download remote access software (an app that lets someone else control your device);
- “authorise” payments that really go to the criminals.
Report Fraud received 110 reports between 5 and 14 October 2026. It says criminals stole £86,837. People aged 50 to 79 made up 60 per cent of reports.
Who is affected
Anyone with an Amazon account can get this call.
What we do not know yet
- Who is behind it.
- Whether it is growing outside the UK.
Do this today (about 5 minutes)
- Our advice: hang up and check your orders yourself. Open Your Orders in the Amazon app or by typing amazon.co.uk.
- Our advice: do not share your screen, install an app, send ID or “authorise” a payment for a caller. Amazon says it “will never ask for your password, OTP, gift card details, bank card details or any other confidential information over the phone”. An OTP is a one-time code.
- Our advice: talk to an older relative. Agree: “If ‘Amazon’ calls, we hang up and check together.”
- Our advice: if you already did any of this, in the UK, call 159 to reach your bank (it works for almost all UK current accounts), or call the number on your card. Delete any app the caller asked for. Change your Amazon password on a device the caller did not use.
- Our advice: report it.
UK: England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. Scotland: Police Scotland on 101. If the call was to your mobile, text the word Call followed by the caller’s number to 7726. Forward scam texts to 7726.
US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
See also: Hang up and call back
Sources
- City of London Police / Report Fraud alert, published 30 Oct 2026, 16:49 UK time (official; the call, the steps, the figures, 159, 7726, 0300 123 2040, Scotland 101): https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news/city-of-london/news/2026/october/report-fraud-alert-more-than-86000-stolen-in-nine-days-by-fraudsters-posing-as-amazon/
- Devon and Cornwall Police community messaging alert (official, second source): https://community-messaging.dc.police.uk/Alerts/A/518355/-Amazon-Scam-Warning-Fraudsters-Are-Targeting-UK-Residents
- Report Fraud, “Report Fraud service goes live”, 4 Dec 2025 (official; replaced Action Fraud for England, Wales and Northern Ireland): https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/news/report-fraud-service-goes-live/
- Report Fraud (official; 0300 123 2040, Scotland 101): https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/ and https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/reporting-a-fraud/
- Report Fraud, “How to report suspicious messages, calls and websites” (official; 7726 for calls to your mobile and for texts): https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/how-to-report-suspicious-activity/
- Police Scotland, Contact us (official; 101): https://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/
- Stop Scams UK, 159 (the 159 service’s own page; “more than 99%” of UK retail bank current accounts): https://stopscamsuk.org.uk/our-programmes/159-phone-number/
- Amazon UK Help, “How to identify fake phone calls” (official; what Amazon “will never ask for”; Your Orders): https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=T3rnIphp327SSKYl8e
- FTC, ReportFraud.ftc.gov (official): https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
Checked: 31 Oct 2026, 17:04 Paris time, against the City of London Police / Report Fraud alert of 30 Oct 2026 (published 16:49 UK time). This entry will change if Report Fraud or Amazon publishes more. Our disclosure: SafeinAI has no affiliate links and earns nothing from the sites or tools named on this page. If this ever changes we will say so here, on this page.
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