A woman is using her experience to warn others as Black Friday approaches. She was scammed out of $20,000.
The woman first received an email from what appeared to be Amazon informing her of a purchase she said she didn’t make.
She clicked the link and made a phone call to speak with a person who agreed to put the money for the purchase back into her account.
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The scammer claimed he was able to access her computer where he said he accidentally deposited cash into her account.
He then convinced the woman to return the money by cash and mail $20,000 to an unknown location.
The incident was in Florida, where Naples Police Department Lt. Bryan McGinn said it was most likely that the victim was rushed and given no time to think.
He added that a legitimate business would never demand something like that be taken care of immediately and so specifically.
The Federal Trade Commission released data reporting that 96,000 people lost a total of $27 million due to scamming between July of 2020 and June of 2021.
One in three people that have reported scams from business impersonators say they pretend to be Amazon.
Related: Keep these five things in mind to avoid being scammed during Black Friday when shopping
Amazon customers are also receiving phone calls from people claiming to be workers for Amazon calling to report suspicious activity.
The scammers go on to say they need access to the victims computer to install a security card. They make the victim pay for the fake security card with gift cards.
Many victims don’t realize what happened until it’s too late.
Related: Scammers use iPhone users to call and hack their bank accounts
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