Receiving an order confirmation for a purchase you did not make is alarming — and that is exactly why scammers send fake Amazon order emails by the millions. The email claims you have just been charged for an expensive item: a laptop, iPhone, gift card, or Amazon Prime membership. It includes a fake order number, a cancellation phone number, or a link to "view your order." None of it is real. But the fear of an unexpected charge pushes people to act before thinking, which is when the fraud happens. This guide shows you exactly how to tell whether an Amazon email is genuine, what specific red flags to look for, and how to respond safely.
The Most Common Fake Amazon Email Types
Fake order confirmations: An email arrives saying you just ordered an expensive item — MacBook Pro, iPhone, $500 Amazon gift card — with an order number, a delivery date, and a phone number or link to "cancel the order if you did not place it." The product, the order number, and the charge are all fabricated. The phone number leads to a scammer, and the link leads to a fake Amazon login page.
Account suspension warnings: "Your Amazon account has been suspended due to unusual activity. Click here to verify your identity and restore access within 24 hours." The link leads to a fake Amazon login page that captures your credentials and potentially your payment details when you "update" them.
Prime renewal scams: Similar to the antivirus renewal scam — an email claiming Amazon Prime has auto-renewed at a high price and providing a number to call to cancel. Amazon Prime annual memberships cost far less than the amounts listed in these scams.
Package delivery problems: "We were unable to deliver your package. Click here to reschedule delivery." If you are not expecting a package, this is a fake. Even if you are, log into your Amazon account directly to check the real delivery status rather than clicking any link in a suspicious email.
How to Verify Whether an Amazon Email Is Real
The most reliable method is to log into your Amazon account directly at amazon.com (or amazon.co.uk, etc.) — type the address yourself, never via a link in the email — and check your actual order history. If an order confirmation email is genuine, the order will appear in Your Orders. If no such order exists, the email is a fake and no charge has been made.
Amazon's genuine emails come from specific domains: amazon.com, marketplace.amazon.com, or amazon.co.uk for UK customers. Amazon will never email you from a Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail address, or any domain other than amazon.com or its country-specific equivalents. Check the actual sender address — not just the display name — and look for anything that is not a genuine amazon.com subdomain.
Amazon has a specific page — Messages in Your Account — that shows every real email Amazon has sent you. If an email you received does not appear there, Amazon did not send it. To access it: log into amazon.com → Account & Lists → Your Account → Message Center. This is the single most authoritative way to verify any Amazon communication.
Red Flags That Identify a Fake Amazon Email
A phone number to call to cancel an order — Amazon does not include phone numbers in order confirmation emails. You manage orders through Your Account on the website. Any email prompting you to call a phone number is a scam. Generic greetings like "Dear Customer" instead of your actual name — real Amazon emails always address you by the name on your account. Urgent language about money being taken or accounts being closed — Amazon does not communicate routine order confirmations with this kind of pressure. Links that do not go to amazon.com — hover over any link in the email to see where it actually leads. A link to amazon-secure-login.net, amaz0n.com, or any variation is a fake. Poor formatting, spelling errors, or a layout that does not match Amazon's standard email design.
What to Do If You Already Clicked or Called
If you clicked a link and entered your Amazon password: go to amazon.com directly and change your password immediately. Check Your Account for any orders you did not place and report them through Amazon's reporting flow. Enable two-factor authentication in Account → Login and Security. If payment details were entered on the fake page, contact your bank or card issuer to flag potential fraud and request a card replacement.
If you called a phone number and gave remote access to your computer: follow the same steps outlined for the Norton/McAfee scam — disconnect, change passwords from another device, contact your bank, run a malware scan, and report the fraud to your bank and to the FTC (US), Action Fraud (UK), or your local authority.
How to Protect Your Amazon Account Going Forward
Enable two-step verification on your Amazon account under Account → Login and Security → Two-Step Verification. Use a strong, unique password for Amazon that you do not use anywhere else. The secondary email address associated with your Amazon account is a valuable target — if that address is exposed in a data breach and uses a reused password, an attacker can access your Amazon account and make purchases. Consider whether the email registered to your Amazon account is one you have used in many other places; if it has appeared in known breaches, changing it to a more private address is worthwhile. Check haveibeenpwned.com to see whether your current address has been exposed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if an Amazon order confirmation email is real?
Log into your Amazon account at amazon.com directly (type the address, do not click the email link) and check Your Orders. If the order appears there, the email is genuine. If no such order exists, the email is a fake and you have not been charged. You can also check Amazon's Message Center (Account → Message Center) which shows every real email Amazon has sent you — if the email is not there, Amazon did not send it.
Amazon said my account has been suspended. What should I do?
Go to amazon.com directly and try to log in. If your account were genuinely suspended, you would see a notification upon logging in. If you can log in normally, the suspension email was fake. Do not click any link in the email claiming your account is suspended — it leads to a credential-harvesting page. If you cannot log in and suspect a real issue, use the "Forgot your password?" function on amazon.com to regain access, then contact Amazon's official support.
I got an Amazon email with a phone number to cancel an order. Should I call it?
No. Amazon does not include phone numbers in order confirmation emails for cancellations. A phone number in what claims to be an Amazon order email is the definitive sign of a scam. Do not call it. If you are concerned about an order, log into amazon.com directly and manage it through Your Orders. Any cancellation or return can be initiated from there without any phone call.
Achyuth Kumar
Founder & editor, TempMailKit
Achyuth builds privacy tools and writes TempMailKit’s guides on email security, spam, and online privacy. Every article is checked against primary sources and our editorial policy before it is published. Questions or a correction? Get in touch.