Fake Amazon Calls: The "Suspicious Order" Refund Scam Explained

"We're calling about a suspicious charge of $749 on your Amazon account — press 1 to cancel the order." Amazon doesn't make that call. Here's how the fake-order scam escalates from a robocall to remote access to your bank account, and how to shut it down.

Updated 2026-07-17 · By Andrew Pickett, OmegaIT

The script, step by step

Step one is a robocall about an expensive order you never placed — an iPhone, a MacBook, sometimes with your city named for credibility. Press 1 to "cancel" and you reach the real operation: a "refund specialist" who needs to "verify" you, then claims the refund requires access to your device or bank. Step two is the pivot — you're asked to install remote-access software (AnyDesk, TeamViewer, "our secure refund tool") or to read out a code your bank just texted you. Step three is the theft: with screen access or that code, they move money, and a classic variant fakes an over-refund ("we accidentally sent you $4,000 instead of $400") to guilt you into wiring the "difference" back.

The genius of the script is that it targets everyone: nearly everybody has an Amazon account, so a blast robocall about "your Amazon order" lands on millions of plausible victims. These campaigns rotate through toll-free and geographic numbers alike — the same pattern we see across the most-reported numbers leaderboard.

What Amazon actually does

Amazon will essentially never call you unprompted about an order problem. Real order issues show up in the app and by email; refunds are issued to your original payment method with zero action from you; and no Amazon process ever involves remote-access software, gift cards, wire transfers or reading back a one-time passcode. You can see every real order at amazon.com/orders in ten seconds — if the "suspicious order" isn't there, the call was fake.

If you want to double-check, contact Amazon through the app's customer-service chat. Never use a callback number from the call, the voicemail or a text — that routes you straight back to the scam.

If you pressed 1 — or worse

Pressed 1 and hung up? No damage done, though expect more calls — your number is now marked as answering. Installed remote software? Disconnect the device from the internet, uninstall it, run a malware scan, and change your Amazon and email passwords from a different device. Gave banking details or moved money? Call your bank's fraud line immediately (the number on your card), then report to reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Finally, put the number on record: report it via the FCC/FTC process and leave a report on the number's page here describing the script. Amazon-impersonation numbers burn out and rotate within weeks — the public record is how the next wave gets caught early.

Got a call from an unknown number?

Look it up free — carrier, location, FCC complaints and first-hand reports.

FAQs

Does Amazon ever call customers?

Only in narrow cases and almost always after you've requested contact (like a scheduled callback from customer service). An unprompted call about a suspicious order, a refund or account verification is not Amazon. When in doubt, close the call and check amazon.com/orders directly.

I got a text about an Amazon package I didn't order. Same scam?

Same family — smishing. Text-message complaints in the FCC data we track more than quadrupled between 2019 and 2024, and fake delivery/order texts are a big driver. Don't tap the link; delete it and check your orders in the app. See our wrong-number text guide for the texting variants.

The caller knew my name and city. Doesn't that mean it's real?

No — names, cities, and even past addresses are cheaply available from data breaches and people-search brokers. Scammers seed calls with a detail or two precisely to buy credibility. Knowledge of your name proves nothing; the request (remote access, codes, gift cards) is what identifies the scam.