This Knoxville woman lost her life savings of $19,000 after calling back fraudsters posing as Amazon — here’s how the scam works and how you can protect yourself

When a simple mistake has far-reaching consequences

When Colleen got on the phone with "customer service" at Amazon, the agent she spoke to led her to believe that her account was compromised. She was then transferred to a man who identified himself as Agent John Davis from the Federal Trade Commission.

He sent Colleen his fake credentials and she received what looked like an official FTC letter stating that her Social Security number was associated with fraud and her bank account could be drained at any time. Naturally, she panicked.

Colleen was instructed to withdraw $19,000 from her savings in cash. She was then told to go to a tobacco and vape shop and create an account on its Bitcoin ATM. She was sent a bar code to scan, which allowed her to deposit $15,000.

She then went to two apparel stores, as instructed, and purchased $4,000 in gift cards before giving the cards' numbers to Davis. Davis sent her a "receipt" for her $19,000 and said she'd get her money back after the FTC did its investigation. She was also told to keep the details of the situation to herself. Now, members of Colleen's church are helping her out while she works through the aftermath.

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How to avoid falling victim to a scam

The sad thing about Colleen's situation is that she's the one who made the call to "Amazon," so she thought she was in the clear. But any time you need to contact a merchant, your best bet is to go to the company's site directly and get its phone number or email — don't just do a Google search.

Often, though, scammers like the ones Colleen encountered target victims by reaching out to them directly. And there’s also been an uptick in Amazon scams in particular.

You should know that Amazon will never ask for your password, credit card number or bank account details over the phone. Amazon will also never ask you to buy gift cards to resolve an account issue, and it certainly won’t insist that you send Bitcoin.

Unfortunately, scams involving crypto are all too common. In 2023, the FBI received more than 69,000 complaints of financial fraud that involved the use of cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, the fraud-prevention guidelines mentioned above also apply to calls or emails you may get from a financial institution or government agency. Whether it's the "IRS," "Social Security Administration" or another seemingly legitimate agency, you'll never be asked to wire money on the spot or send payment in the form of gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Now, the IRS may legitimately send you a notice saying you owe money. And the Social Security Administration might send you a notice saying you've been overpaid on benefits and you need to return some of those funds.

But in either case, an agent isn't going to call, email, or text you that information. They'll send an official letter in the mail. And from there, you'll have an opportunity to verify that you're calling the correct number and speak to a person who can confirm your letter's legitimacy.

Keep in mind, too, that you’ll never be required to settle an IRS or Social Security debt in cash. So if someone contacts you and instructs you to withdraw cash to avoid consequences, consider it a red flag. Unfortunately, consumers lost $20 million in cash to government impersonation scams during the first quarter of 2024 alone, per the FTC.

The FTC also reports that consumers lost more than $10 billion to fraud in the course of 2023. That's a 14% increase from a year prior. So if a criminal reaches out and tries to scam you, even if you know better, make sure to report it to the FTC. Doing so could prevent someone less savvy from becoming a victim.