Amazon announced some of its sellers have received fraudulent emails that attempt to trick them into disclosing personal information or shipping items that had not been sold. Such hoax emails usually send users to spoof sites in what's now known as "phishing" scams.
Phishers have impersonated PayPal and eBay since 2002, and ecommerce and financial institutions have been increasingly targeted. Early this week Citibank warned it was targeted in several phishing campaigns. And today, IDG News Service reported that virus authors continue to use phishing emails to help spread viruses (http://digbig.com/3kqc).
Amazon's announcement on Thursday warned users, "Amazon.com does not send out e-mails requesting personal information. If you receive such an e-mail, do not respond. If you have already responded, please notify us immediately."
Amazon.com has a page on its site to help users avoid spoof emails.
