- Amazon customers took to social media over the weekend to report a series of false email confirmations from the company about gift card purchases they didn’t make.
- Amazon customer service has received numerous calls from customers concerned that their accounts have been hacked.
- A representative said the company was investigating the cause of the erroneous emails, but that the accounts were secure and customers could ignore the messages.
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Amazon customer service representatives fielded a wave of inquiries this weekend from customers who received suspicious and confusing email confirmations about gift card purchases they didn’t make.
Customers on social media said they received three consecutive emails, some on Saturday evening and others on Sunday morning, thanking them for purchasing Google Play, Mastercard and Hotels.com gift cards, even though they never used them had bought.
An Amazon customer service representative said the company was investigating the cause of the erroneous emails, but that the accounts were secure and customers could ignore the messages.
“Dear Amazon customer,” one of the emails read. “Thank you for purchasing Google Play Gift Cards from Amazon.com.”
The Amazon emails also warned about gift card scams: “There are a variety of scams in which fraudsters attempt to trick others into paying with well-known brand gift cards.”
Part of an email sent to several Amazon customers over the weekend that incorrectly confirmed gift card purchases that had not been made.
Photo courtesy of Dan Mangan.
The messages left customers confused and worried that a hacker may have gained access to their financial information and purchased these gift cards.
“Thanks for the early morning heart attack, Amazon. “Who needs caffeine?” one user wrote in a Facebook post after receiving the erroneous emails.
An Amazon customer service representative said Sunday morning that the company had received three calls in a row about the email issue. The automated customer service bot said there were “longer than normal wait times” in the phone queue.
“At this time we have no further information regarding the report, but rest assured we are working to get to the bottom of the cause,” said another customer service representative. “I am truly sorry to all customers who received this type of email and that it alarmed them. But rest assured that every account here is safe and in the meantime we can simply inform them to simply ignore the message.”
One Reddit user said an Amazon representative explained the mishap with “poorly worded emails intended to warn customers of potential scams.”
An Amazon spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
—CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed reporting.