How Amazon Prime Day Scams Are Getting Smarter and How Can You Protect Yourself

Amazon Prime Day has become a major shopping event, with 2023 setting a record as customers purchased over 375 million items worldwide, up from 300 million in 2022. As more people rush to find deals, scammers are using increasingly advanced tactics to exploit unsuspecting consumers.

What’s Different This Year?

The use of AI has significantly changed how scams are created and deployed. Tools like ChatGPT have seen explosive growth, reaching 100 million users in the first couple of months after launch — the fastest-growing consumer application in history. This widespread use of AI tools allows scammers to craft highly convincing emails, fake websites, tones of voice and even deepfake videos that closely mimic legitimate communications. In the first half of 2024 alone, there has been a notable increase in AI-powered scams, such as voice cloning and deepfakes, which impersonate trusted organizations or individuals with unprecedented accuracy.

And it’s not just about mimicking Amazon anymore. Scammers are expanding their targets to include other trusted names such as USPS, Temu and SHEIN. With 54% of Prime Day shoppers comparing prices across multiple retailers before purchasing, scammers see an opportunity to deceive across different platforms, knowing that consumers are less suspicious when they recognize a brand.

Amazon’s Package Volume and USPS’s Role:

Amazon’s logistics operations have expanded significantly, and in 2023, the company surpassed UPS in U.S. parcel volume, marking a major shift in the delivery landscape. Despite Amazon’s growing in-house capabilities, it still relies heavily on USPS for a substantial portion of its deliveries, especially for last-mile services. USPS handled millions of Amazon packages, particularly in rural and remote areas, where its delivery network reaches every address in the U.S. In 2023, U.S. parcel volumes reached 21.65 billion shipments, with USPS playing a crucial role in handling a significant portion of these parcels.

Given USPS’s extensive involvement in deliveries, it has become a prime target for scammers. In Q1 and Q2 of 2024, USPS was one of the most frequently imitated brands in phishing scams, as scammers created fake notifications and impersonated its services to trick consumers. Scammers have used this association to craft phishing emails that look like official USPS notifications, including fake tracking updates or delivery failure alerts, exploiting the trust consumers have in USPS.

What Can the Public Do About It?

Traditional Methods Aren’t Enough:

Hovering over a link or checking the sender’s email might have been enough in the past, but today’s AI-powered scams are designed to bypass these simple checks. Fake websites can appear high in search engine rankings, so searching for a company’s name directly might still lead you to a scam.

Take Safer Actions:

The safest way to check your orders or get customer support is through the official app or by typing the URL directly into your browser. Avoid clicking on links from emails or text messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted source. Scammers are skilled at creating urgency to make you click without thinking.

Utilize Advanced Security Tools:

As the human eye is no longer sufficient to detect today’s sophisticated scams, security tools that provide real-time protection can help detect phishing attempts, block malicious websites and warn you about potential scams before they reach people. As scammers continue to evolve their tactics with AI, having this extra layer of security is crucial.

The reality is simple: as scams become more sophisticated, so must the public’s defenses.

About the Author

Efrat Tabibi is the Head of Data Science and Analytics at Guardio. With over 10 years of experience in data analysis and cybersecurity, Efrat leverages her extensive knowledge to protect users from online threats. Efrat can be reached online at our company website https://guard.io/.