The text message scam about winning Amazon raffles is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by Amazon on Tuesday. The company announced they had filed a federal lawsuit against 50 unnamed individuals for fraudulently using Amazon’s brand, logo and web design to unlawfully profit.
According to the Verge, by pursuing legal action, Amazon aims to leverage legal means to identify scammers while discouraging further scams.
What’s the scam this time?
The Amazon raffle scam is coming through SMS text messages promising a fake prize with a claim link for people to follow. The fake prize can include Amazon pods, AirPods, or a fitness watch, among other things, The Sun says. If individuals follow the link, it shows a realistic-looking but fake Amazon webpage with a pointless survey.
- According to Verge and Amazon’s statement, the scam aims to trick innocent people into buying cheap products they think are from Amazon.
In 2020, the Better Business Bureau received 771 complaints of Amazon-impersonating scams. These complaints are second only to complaints of the Social Security Administration scam calls, the Verge says.
How does the lawsuit work?
The lawsuit Amazon filed Tuesday is against 50 John Doe plaintiffs, essentially 50 unnamed and unidentified scammers. By doing this, Amazon is trying to give themselves time and resources to target the scammers, including a Doe subpoena which would allow the company to identify the names behind the domains, as the Verge explains.
- It is still uncertain if Amazon will be able to track down the scammers, both the Verge and BGR says.
However, Amazon did succeed in a similar 2018 lawsuit. The 2018 lawsuit used a Doe subpoena to identify four scammers, winning Amazon $1.5 million in settlements so far. The company hopes to replicate this success with the most recent lawsuit.
Individuals are advised to ignore the scam text messages about fake Amazon raffles and not to click on any links.