Amazon teamed up with Microsoft to thwart scammers in India posing as employees of their respective firms, the most recent example of Amazon’s more aggressive actions against fraudsters in recent years.
Amazon issued a press release on Thursday announcing that together with Microsoft and the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI), which is the federal enforcement agency in India, it had taken action against perpetrators of “technology support fraud.”
“On Thursday, October 19, CBI announced it conducted multiple criminal raids in various cities spanning several states against illegal call centers in India that were set up to impersonate Microsoft and Amazon customer support. The illegal call centers impacted more than 2,000 Amazon and Microsoft customers primarily based in the U.S., but also in Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, and the UK.”
If you peruse online discussion boards, you’ve likely seen posts written by people who think they’re engaging with legitimate customer service representatives when in reality, it appears they are not. In June, we wrote about scammers who were targeting Etsy sellers with very convincing messages.
Amazon said it was its first collaboration with Microsoft to combat tech support fraud. “Together, the companies are setting a precedent for the power of industry collaboration and the collective impact it can have in holding bad actors accountable,” it wrote. “Our joint efforts signify a commitment to long-term engagement in combating these scams. We will continue to work with Indian law enforcement agencies as well as authorities from countries of victims so that they can continue to act.”
“Our vision is to build a world where consumers are confident that they will not be taken advantage of by bad actors who impersonate trusted brands,” Amazon stated.
“Because impersonation scams, when a scammer pretends to be a trusted entity to try to defraud consumers, are an industrywide issue, Amazon works to proactively protect consumers by educating them, innovating on their behalf, and holding bad actors accountable. We also team up with others across industry sectors to develop solutions and support to address this shared challenge.”
Kathy Sheehan, Amazon’s Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Business Conduct & Ethics, said the marketplace encourages others in the industry to join it as a united front against criminal activity.
With ALL their anonymity and stealth communications, AMAZON encourages this type of behavior, and desperate sellers reliance on an uncompromising unethical ‘boss’