Amazon account hacked

[folivier]

I just spent over an hour with Amazon customer service about my account being hacked.
When I logged into Amazon prime video app on Roku it came up with a different name than mine. Then I logged into my Amazon.com account and it came up with the same name. The name was no one I know.
So I tried a chat first then got a call from someone at Amazon. First thing they wanted was the last 4 digits of my credit card on my account. Uh NOOOOO. I wasn't giving anyone who called me that info.
Anyway after resetting my password 5 times and the customer service rep doing something on their end that other name disappeared.
Then had to get a supervisor to help with removing that name from my Prime Video account.
Neither person could tell me what had happened.
So just be aware.
We'll be watching our credit cards for the next few weeks.

 

[W2R]

How peculiar! That must have been so unnerving; glad you got it straightened out.

 

[easysurfer]

Is your Amazon account set up with 2FA? If not, hopefully that might help in the future.

 

[Sunset]

Strange,
So did you check the person didn't already order a bunch of stuff using your CC that Amazon likes to save ?

 

[folivier]

I did set up 2FA last night. Didn't have it set up because we have no cell service at our cabin.
We're watching both our amazon accounts and credit cards for a few weeks. So far no charges. I'm thinking someone hacked our account and I happened to catch them before they ordered anything. Just lucky. Actually I saw in another post here that LA Law was on Prime Video so wanted to put that in my watchlist and that's when I caught them.

 

[rk911]

I just spent over an hour with Amazon customer service about my account being hacked.
When I logged into Amazon prime video app on Roku it came up with a different name than mine. Then I logged into my Amazon.com account and it came up with the same name. The name was no one I know.
So I tried a chat first then got a call from someone at Amazon. First thing they wanted was the last 4 digits of my credit card on my account. Uh NOOOOO. I wasn't giving anyone who called me that info.
Anyway after resetting my password 5 times and the customer service rep doing something on their end that other name disappeared.
Then had to get a supervisor to help with removing that name from my Prime Video account.
Neither person could tell me what had happened.
So just be aware.
We'll be watching our credit cards for the next few weeks.

do yourself a favor and plsce alerts on your cards and bank accounts. set the alerts to text and/or email you anytime any activity > $0 occurs.

 

[lucky penny]

i'm thinking someone hacked our account and I happened to catch them before they ordered anything. Just lucky. Actually I saw in another post here that LA Law was on Prime Video so wanted to put that in my watchlist and that's when I caught them.

Thanks for sharing this & also for mentioning LA Law. I'm very happy to see it's on Amazon! I was a young lawyer when I first saw it in the 80s & recall so many great lines, scenes & themes from that show -- eager to start watching it again.

 

[Golden Mean]

I did set up 2FA last night. Didn't have it set up because we have no cell service at our cabin.

If you have wifi at your cabin and wifi calling on your cell phone plan, you should also be able to receive texts via wifi calling.

 

[mcbraemer]

do yourself a favor and plsce alerts on your cards and bank accounts. set the alerts to text and/or email you anytime any activity > $0 occurs.

Great banking advice here! You will then receive a text and/or email (your preference) the moment your credit card or bank account is used. This service is one of my favorites!

 

[CaptTom]

Just a slightly off-topic rant about 2FA...

I'm concerned that everyone is forcing me to use 2FA. I lost my cell phone once, a few years ago, and still remember how crippled I felt until I could get a new one.

Today, if I lost my phone I'd be shut out of just about every account I use. They all want to text me every time I try to connect from a different IP address. Have they ever heard of mobile devices? The whole point is we could be signing on from anywhere. That's normal usage, not something you need to verify.

Anyway, yes, I do sign up to receive a text (or one place only offers an e-mail) any time my account is used. That seems like a no-brainer. I'd know right away if there were any fraud.

 

[Aerides]

Today, if I lost my phone I'd be shut out of just about every account I use.

With Google Fi, I can and do get messages via my PC. I can see texts and all phone info (calls and vmails) on my pc just like on my phone. When I do 2FA I don't even get my phone. I'd imagine all phone services have this available?

 

[tulak]

Just a slightly off-topic rant about 2FA...

I'm concerned that everyone is forcing me to use 2FA. I lost my cell phone once, a few years ago, and still remember how crippled I felt until I could get a new one.

I don’t use a cell phone for 2FA. I use either a Google Voice number or e-mail (or a hw key).

A Google Voice number is more secure and you can always login to the website to get the code. No cell phone required. I get notifications using their app on the cellphone. I don’t forward Google Voice texts.

 

[CaptTom]

Good points. I use Google Fi too. I tried the web-based stuff for it once, but I never really use it. I should look into it some more.

I also like the idea of going to e-mail instead of text for the 2FA. It can be a little less convenient, but may be worth it. I especially like the sites which give you the option to use different verification methods. Some only allow one phone number.

Unfortunately, a lot of the new security features of browsers and e-mail providers make it nearly impossible to log on to your e-mail from anywhere except the same browser, at the same IP address, as you usually use. Anything "new" sets off their verification process, which always seems to come back to a cell phone number. So, lose your phone and you lose both text and e-mail.

I've tried other free VoIP options, but they usually have a "use it or lose it" feature which re-assigns your number to someone else if you don't keep using it. Not sure whether Google Voice does this or not. I guess I need to do some testing and find a solution which works best with all my different logons.

 

[badatmath]

You will all laugh at me but my bank uses email or land line for verification. But somehow I have never lost the land line or broken it! So it isn't a bad deal. I don't travel (by choice) so it isn't like I am going to get stuck in foreign place needing cash.

 

[tulak]

I moved my old landline number to Google Voice a decade ago and haven’t had any issues. I didn’t want to lose the number, so moving it to Google Voice made sense. I only hope that Google keeps the service going, since they’ve been known to cancel services.

 

[Sunset]

....
I've tried other free VoIP options, but they usually have a "use it or lose it" feature which re-assigns your number to someone else if you don't keep using it. Not sure whether Google Voice does this or not. I guess I need to do some testing and find a solution which works best with all my different logons.

I've been using google voice for a few years now, but pretty rarely probably once every 2 months. They didn't cancel it on me, so I think it would be good.

 

[GenXguy]

I've been using google voice for a few years now, but pretty rarely probably once every 2 months. They didn't cancel it on me, so I think it would be good.

I've had Google voice for quite a few years.

I get notices from time to time from google that I am going to lose my google voice number if I don't use it. So I then make a call with it to get it going. This is an example of an email I received April 30.

We noticed that you haven’t used your Google Voice number in a while. Because phone numbers are a limited resource, it is our policy to reclaim unused numbers so they can be made available to new users.

If you’d like to keep your Google Voice number (XXX) XXX-XXXX, you will need to make calls or send text messages by May 30, 2023 by logging in to your account or using the Google Voice app on Android or iOS.

Please remember that your current number will be reclaimed in 30 days unless you start using it. If the number is reclaimed, your existing messages will remain available in your account, but you will no longer be able to receive calls or text messages.

The Google Voice Team

 

[tulak]

I've had Google voice for quite a few years.

I get notices from time to time from google that I am going to lose my google voice number if I don't use it. So I then make a call with it to get it going. This is an example of an email I received April 30.

Interesting. Idk they monitored inactivity. I get so many spam calls at that number that it’s not a problem. Finally a benefit for spam calls. [emoji23]

 

[CaptTom]

OK, I just tested my Google Voice number and it worked for both text and voice. I think I'm going to put that as a secondary phone number for verification on any accounts which allow multiple numbers.

 

[Golden Mean]

With Google Fi, I can and do get messages via my PC. I can see texts and all phone info (calls and vmails) on my pc just like on my phone. When I do 2FA I don't even get my phone. I'd imagine all phone services have this available?

How are you able to get/see vmails and texts on your pc from googleFi? I just looked at the googleFi "app" on my pc and I don't see a place to see/hear them. I did just turn on voicemails via text so maybe the interface will change when I get a new voicemail?

 

[Aerides]

How are you able to get/see vmails and texts on your pc from googleFi? I just looked at the googleFi "app" on my pc and I don't see a place to see/hear them. I did just turn on voicemails via text so maybe the interface will change when I get a new voicemail?

I don't use any "apps" on my actual PC. I just have a tab for it: https://messages.google.com/

 

[Golden Mean]

I don't use any "apps" on my actual PC. I just have a tab for it: https://messages.google.com/

Yeah, I meant the web apps/urls in the browser (drive, sheets, calendar, etc). Looks like this one is 'messages'. It wants me to install messages on the phone and then hit 'sync' to use the browser 'messages' with googleFi. Thanks.