- August 19, 2026
- By admin
- Scams & Safety
Scammers do not target careless sellers. They target busy ones, at the exact moment a real problem would be most frightening: a listing suppression, a policy warning, a trademark filing. Every scam below relies on urgency plus a channel Amazon does not actually use.
The fake “account health” call
Someone calls, knows your store name and a recent order, and says your account is at risk unless you verify information now. Amazon does not cold-call sellers to demand credentials, one-time codes or payment. Hang up and open Seller Central yourself. A real issue is always visible in Account Health — never only on a phone call.
Phishing emails that look like Performance Notifications
Correct logo, correct tone, wrong destination. Check the actual link target, not the display text. The rule that never fails: never click through — navigate to Seller Central yourself and read the notification there. If it does not exist in your account, it does not exist.
Trademark and brand registry invoices
Official-looking bills for “trademark monitoring”, “registry renewal” or directory listings, often priced just low enough that a bookkeeper pays them without asking. Legitimate trademark correspondence in the US comes from the USPTO or your own attorney of record.
Review and ranking services
Anyone offering guaranteed reviews, verified-purchase reviews or ranking manipulation is selling you a suspension with a delivery date. The service takes payment; you take the enforcement.
“Reinstatement specialists” who need account access
Real help writes plans of action with you. It does not need your login, and it does not promise reinstatement — nobody can.
Supplier and freight fraud
New supplier, urgent wire, changed bank details mid-relationship. Verify a changed account by calling a number you already had, not one in the email. This one costs more per incident than everything else on this list.
One rule covers all of it: never act inside the message. Close it, go to Seller Central or call your known contact, and confirm from your side. Urgency is the tell.
Reduce the blast radius
- Two-factor authentication on Seller Central, your email and your bank — app-based, not SMS.
- Separate user permissions per employee; no shared logins.
- Review deposit and bank settings on a schedule, not only when something looks wrong.
- Keep a written escalation rule: no payment or credential ever changes on an inbound contact.
The full list, with the exact wording these messages use, is on our free Amazon Seller Scams page. The account-health and documentation checklists that keep you defensible are in the Amazon Seller’s Pocket Guide.
Both books, no sales call
The fee math, the sourcing checklists and the exit plan — from sixteen years of running and fixing Amazon accounts.
Amazon Seller’s Pocket GuideWhy Not to Sell on Amazon