7 ms·

I started being charged $17 a month for Amazon Prime. I contacted Amazon and confirmed I didn't have, and had never had Prime. It was a fraudulent third party.

I started being charged $17 a month for Amazon Prime. I contacted Amazon and confirmed I didn't have, and had never had Prime. It was a fraudulent third party. I think the scam must rake in huge sums of money, given that it could slip by for months unnoticed. EDIT: Amazon confirmed my card was never used to purchase Prime for me or anybody else. The scammers were just charging my card $17, and hiding the charge under the name 'Prime Subscription'.

PopeDotNinja 7y ago
It's also super easy to get suckered into signing up for Amazon Prime. It's happened to me a couple times.
DougN7 7y ago
How did the third party benefit?
- isk517 7y ago
  They got $17.
- tk75x 7y ago
  They (third party) received all the benefits of prime without having to pay for it.
  - superhuzza 7y ago
    No, Amazon confirmed my card wasn't even being used for Prime at all. They just charged my card with the name 'Amazon Prime', and were withdrawing money from it.
- evan_ 7y ago
  Affiliate fraud maybe
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  They were stealing actual money on labeling it as a “Prime Subscription” to avoid detection and direct the issue initially, when detected, at Amazon, which probably averages getting them a few extra billing cycles each time they pull the scam.
dontbenebby 7y ago
>EDIT: Amazon confirmed my card was never used to purchase Prime for me or anybody else. The scammers were just charging my card $17, and hiding the charge under the name 'Prime Subscription'. They were probably just trying to confirm the card is active. Stuff like gas stations and vending machines can set off alerts since they're common vectors. (Ex: my issuer called me immediately after I first got a card and bought gas for it, because someone who previously didn't buy gas doing so in an area far from home was a common fraud pattern) If the small charge works they can try bigger items.

PopeDotNinja 7y ago

It's also super easy to get suckered into signing up for Amazon Prime. It's happened to me a couple times.

DougN7 7y ago

How did the third party benefit?

isk517 7y ago
They got $17.
tk75x 7y ago
They (third party) received all the benefits of prime without having to pay for it.
- superhuzza 7y ago
  No, Amazon confirmed my card wasn't even being used for Prime at all. They just charged my card with the name 'Amazon Prime', and were withdrawing money from it.
evan_ 7y ago
Affiliate fraud maybe
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
dragonwriter 7y ago
They were stealing actual money on labeling it as a “Prime Subscription” to avoid detection and direct the issue initially, when detected, at Amazon, which probably averages getting them a few extra billing cycles each time they pull the scam.

dontbenebby 7y ago

>EDIT: Amazon confirmed my card was never used to purchase Prime for me or anybody else. The scammers were just charging my card $17, and hiding the charge under the name 'Prime Subscription'. They were probably just trying to confirm the card is active. Stuff like gas stations and vending machines can set off alerts since they're common vectors. (Ex: my issuer called me immediately after I first got a card and bought gas for it, because someone who previously didn't buy gas doing so in an area far from home was a common fraud pattern) If the small charge works they can try bigger items.