Amazon scam was so authentic - it got the better of me

A man is warning others to beware after a "clever" scammer pretending to work for Amazon conned him out of £1,800.

Retired charity volunteer Dorian Jones said he was initially suspicious but was caught out when he was called by a second fraudster who then "verified" the first as an Amazon employee.

"It was so authentic. He got the better of me," the 70-year-old said, adding that the scam, which happened earlier this month, got him "hook, line and sinker".

Amazon says it never asks customers to download software, share remote access to devices, or make payments outside of its website or app.

The company said it had been in contact with Jones to help him secure his account.

Jones, from Westbury in Wiltshire, said the fraudster told him his Amazon account was being used to buy two smartphones, which he could see in his basket when he logged in to check.

He said he had some suspicions during the call, which happened on a "very crackly" line, but added the scammer was "on the money about every question" he asked during the almost two-hour conversation.

"The profile of what he knew of me was incredible - my family, my son, schooling," Jones said.

He said the caller even advised him to hang up regularly because they were being "listened to" by a scammer.

"He said to me: 'Your IP address has been corrupted hence your phone has been compromised'. So I felt I was in safer hands," Jones said.

His suspicions grew after he was given directions to type numbers into his phone's keypad to "cancel the scammers", and received fake text messages pretending to be from his bank.

"My wife was shouting in the background, 'Dorian this isn't right'.

"He caught me off guard," Jones said.

During the call with the first scammer, he was called by a second scammer who he believed was an official Amazon representative.

He then put the two phones together and asked the "official" staff member to authenticate the first caller, which they did.

The double scam led to the original caller stealing £1,800 from two of Jones' bank accounts in 12 separate transactions.

"It was so authentic - the fact that he was saying I was being scammed while I was on the phone to him," Jones added.

Jones cancelled his bank cards and contacted police, but said he was still waiting to see if the money could be salvaged.

The former Westbury town councillor, who now volunteers at Dorothy House Hospice, said he wanted to make others aware of the sophisticated scams.

"Beware, they're out there to catch you," he said.

Wiltshire Police is investigating the incident and the force's cyber crime prevent and protect officer, Simon Goodwin, said scams are the most common crime in the UK.

"Do not click on unsolicited links via email, text or QR or download any apps if requested to do so," he said.

"Criminals will employ fear and threat, time constraint and pretend to be from trusted organisations such as the police or your bank in order to try to trick you."

A spokesperson for Amazon said it took fraud prevention extremely seriously and continually reviews its processes to protect customers.

"If a customer receives an unexpected call claiming to be from Amazon, we encourage them to hang up and contact us directly through the Amazon app or website," they added.

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.