Dorian Jones was already suspicious when a man claiming to work for Amazon called about two smartphone purchases in his account.
The 70-year-old retired charity volunteer from Westbury, Wiltshire, questioned the caller and tried to check whether the warning was real, according to Moneywise, which cited Jones’ account to the BBC.
Then a second person called, claimed to be an official Amazon representative, and confirmed the first caller’s identity. That extra layer of fake verification helped convince Jones he was getting legitimate help.
By the end of the nearly two-hour call, £1,800 had been taken from two of his bank accounts through 12 transactions.
Two Smartphones Appeared in His Amazon Basket
Retiree, 70, lost over $2,000 in an Amazon impersonation scam. How fraudsters got him ‘hook, line and sinker’#FraudAlert #ElderFraud #PersonalFinancehttps://t.co/SNrEQPyWUa
— Moneywise (@moneywisecom) July 24, 2026
The first caller told Jones that his Amazon account was being used to buy two smartphones. When Jones logged in, he could see the phones in his basket, which made the warning feel connected to his real account rather than a random cold call.
Jones said the line was crackly, but the caller kept answering his questions convincingly and appeared to know details about his life, including information involving his family, son, and schooling. He later said the scam felt “so authentic” and had him “hook, line and sinker,” Moneywise reported.
A Second Caller Supplied the Fake Verification
Jones tried to protect himself by checking the first caller’s identity. During the conversation, another person called and claimed to be an official Amazon representative.
Jones put the two phones together and asked the second caller to authenticate the first man. The second caller confirmed him, turning Jones’ attempt at verification into the part of the scam that made the operation feel more legitimate.
The callers also told Jones that another scammer was listening in, that his IP address had been corrupted, and that his phone was no longer secure. As his wife warned him that something was wrong, Jones received fake text messages pretending to come from his bank and was instructed to type numbers into his phone keypad to “cancel” the scammers.
Twelve Transactions Came From Two Bank Accounts
The double-call setup led to £1,800 being taken from two of Jones’ bank accounts through 12 separate transactions, according to Moneywise.
Jones canceled his bank cards and contacted police. Amazon told Moneywise it had been in contact with him to help secure his account, and the company said scammers may contact consumers by email, phone, or text while creating false urgency around payments, devices, or account security.
Amazon Says Customers Should Verify Through the App or Website
Amazon says fake account-security alerts and order warnings are common impersonation tactics. The company says it will never ask customers to provide passwords, one-time passcodes, gift card details, bank card details, or other confidential information over the phone.
Amazon also says customers who receive an unexpected payment request or account-security message should verify it directly through their Amazon account or Amazon’s scam help page, not through links, phone numbers, or instructions provided in the message.
The FTC has warned about Amazon impersonation scams that begin with a call or text about a suspicious purchase and then turn into a larger story about fraud, hacked accounts, or money that must be moved to protect it.
What To Do After an Amazon Impersonation Call
Anyone who gets a suspicious Amazon call should hang up, open the Amazon app or website independently, and check the order history and Message Center. A real Amazon issue should be visible inside the account, and customer service should be reached through the official app or site.
People should not share one-time passcodes, passwords, bank details, card information, gift card numbers, or remote-access permissions with someone who called unexpectedly. If a caller says the phone, IP address, bank account, or Amazon account has been compromised, the safest move is to end the call and use another trusted device to contact the bank and Amazon directly.
If money has already moved, the victim should contact the bank immediately, ask whether any transaction can be frozen or reversed, cancel affected cards, change Amazon and email passwords from a clean device, remove unknown devices from the account, and save call logs, bank texts, screenshots, account alerts, transaction records, phone numbers, and any names the callers used.
Amazon scams can be reported through Amazon’s official scam-reporting tools, local police, the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.