Amazon has introduced a new Alexa for Shopping feature that can help customers check whether an email, text message or phone call genuinely came from the company, amid the continued use of impersonation scams targeting shoppers.
Customers can ask the assistant about a suspicious communication, which Amazon says will compare it with a record of messages sent by the company. It will also assess details including the wording, formatting and sender information.
Alexa for Shopping will only confirm that a message is genuine when Amazon is “completely certain”, according to the company. In one example, a customer asks whether Amazon had sent a one-time password by text at a particular time.
The assistant responds: “This was a genuine One Time Password from Amazon.” The feature is intended to help customers distinguish legitimate security messages from attempts to obtain account details or access codes.
Where a message cannot be verified as having come from Amazon, the assistant will direct the customer to check their orders through the Amazon app and contact the company’s support team directly.
Amazon launched a related service earlier this year allowing customers to forward suspicious messages to verify@amazon.com. The company says the address can be used to check whether communications purporting to be from Amazon are authentic.
Customers should avoid using links or telephone numbers contained in a suspicious message and instead access Amazon through its official app or website before seeking support.
