A cyber security company is concerned with Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day shopping event.
Check Point Research found a significant increase in the number of website domains registered using the words “Amazon” and “Prime.” More than a quarter are considered malicious, and one in ten suspicious.
“The user may not realize it’s a fake website, because hackers usually do a really good job of imitating the look and feel of the website they're trying to come off as,” said Maya Levine, security expert at Check Point.
Check Point says look for the little "lock" icon next to a website's address and also check for the additional letter “s” after “http.” Those both indicate a reliable site.
“This is just something that is making the website a little more secure, so if you're seeing http without the s, that means you're missing that added layer of encryption, that added layer of security,” said Levine.
Don't overshare online. You should never have to enter your birthday or social security number to buy something. You should also avoid public Wi-Fi when shopping and reset your Amazon password before you shop Prime Day sales.
“If your password for one account got leaked and it’s the same one as your Amazon account, a hacker can take that and test it out,” said Levine.
Also be leery of emails or texts about Amazon Prime Day or any events in general. Links often take you to malicious sites. It’s always best to open the app or go to the website yourself.