A WREXHAM man is urging people to be careful after he received what he believes to be a scam call.

Action Fraud has previously warned the public about a scam in which victims have been cold-called at home by people claiming to be from the online retailer Amazon.

In those cases the caller claims to be contacting the victim because there is an issue with their Amazon Prime membership or unauthorised activity on their Amazon account.

The Wrexham man, who does not want to be named, is in his seventies.

He told the Leader: "I had a call on my landline and when I answered I was connected to an automated messaging system. "A voice said 'this is Amazon Prime, your account has been activated and you will be charged - if you wish to cancel, please press one.'

"I could have gotten confused because only the week before, it happened that I'd actually set up Amazon Prime on my account. "But I never press buttons on these calls when I am asked to - or follow links.

"I replaced the receiver and had a word with my daughter about it, and she understood there is a scam like this doing the rounds.

"Then I thought - Amazon wouldn't have my landline number, either.

"I informed my local councillor and I reported it to Action Fraud."

In advice issued last year, Action Fraud described the scam - the initial steps of which are as the Wrexham man describes - but the organisation warned that after pressing one, the victim is "directed to a fraudster posing as an Amazon customer service representative."

A spokesman said: "The fraudster advises the victim that their subscription was purchased fraudulently and that remote access to their computer is required in order to fix a security flaw that will prevent it from reoccurring.

"The victim is asked to download a remote access application, often the ‘Team Viewer’ app, which grants the fraudster access to their computer.

"The Team Viewer software is then mis-used by the criminal to monitor the victim logging onto their online bank account, which allows the fraudster to see the victim’s personal and financial details.

"Other variants of the crime involve fraudsters stating that the recipient is eligible for a refund for an unauthorised transaction on their Amazon account."

On his advice to other people, the Wrexham man said: "Be very careful and don't press numbers on your keypad when you're asked to.

"I didn't lose any money or anything but it's easy to see how some people could be tricked."

Amazon has advice on its website about identifying whether a call, text or other communication purporting to be from its team is genuine.

According to the site, if you receive a suspicious phone call claiming to be from Amazon, here are some things you can look out for:

  • Amazon will never ask for payment or offer you a refund you do not expect.
  • Amazon will never ask you to make a payment outside of our website (e.g. via bank transfer, e-mailing credit card details, sharing gift card details over the phone, etc.)
  • Amazon will never ask you for remote access to your device e.g. by asking you to install an app.