Auburn woman shares story of scam that claimed her Amazon account was hacked

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Margaret Wescott was at her home in Auburn checking emails when she came across one that alarmed her.

“It said it was from Amazon," she continued saying, "It had an order on there for a TV and Xbox and over $6,500. It also had a little note on there that if you had not ordered this, to call this number.”

Once the scammers had her on the phone Wescott said they told her, her Amazon account had been hacked.

They then encouraged her to buy gift cards to pay for them to block the hackers.

“They don’t want you to hang up whatsoever," said Wescott, "They keep after you saying you’ve got to listen to exactly what we’re saying, this is imperative, this is mandatory that you do this otherwise you’re going to be paying for that TV and Xbox.”

Wescott bought gift cards at several different stores before realizing she’d fallen victim to a scam.

“I lost 4,000 dollars on gift cards,” she said.

It’s a scam the BBB said they’ve seen a spike in since last week’s Amazon Prime Day.

Denise Groene, State Director for the BBB said, “Better Business Bureau has seen an increase with scammers using the Amazon name to target consumers into thinking there’s a problem with their prime card or a problem with an order and trying to take advantage of consumers by getting their personal information as well as payment.”

The BBB warns methods of payment, like sending gift cards, are a huge red flag.

Groene said, “When it comes to these scams and these payment methods, there is no recourse. So, it’s really important that you do your due diligence if you get an unsolicited phone call or email to make sure that’s truly the organization or business that is reaching out to you.”

If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam, go to BBB.org/scamtracker to make a report.

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