A new campaign to trick innocent consumers out of their personal information is being highlighted by cyber-security experts as customers of Amazon are warned to look out for fake automated calls relating to an alleged Prime subscription payment.

The Express reports that this scam revolves around calls which claim that a fraudulent Prime subscription has been set up, whereas in actual fact the perpetrators are merely alleging this in order to get victims to give away private data as a means of verifying their identity.

The next step involves the scammers requesting to remotely access the victim’s PC, at which point they will steal even more information and ultimately try to take cash from bank accounts while also charging a premium rate for the ongoing call.

This is not the first time that a combination of online and phone-based techniques has been deployed to try to steal sensitive information from consumers. Such tactics, which blend digital hacking with social engineering, tend to work best on the most vulnerable members of society and have a surprisingly high hit rate, which is why they are regularly re-used in slightly different guises.

Customers of Amazon who want to keep enjoying safe shopping online are advised to ignore any unsolicited calls or emails alleging to be related to a Prime subscription renewal, especially if they involve requests for the provision of personal information.

Clearly, anyone who is already a Prime subscriber will realise that the calls and messages are illegitimate, but anyone who is told that they have been charged for a subscription that they did not initiate themselves could likely be duped because of the concerns this will raise. Being made aware of such scams is the best way to protect customers against them, regardless of the retailer involved.