Amazon account hacked, what to do

Your Amazon account is hacked when someone else can sign in, place orders, or change the password. If you can still sign in, change the password from Your Account. Then remove addresses and cards you did not add. If you cannot sign in, reset the password. If Amazon shows an account on hold, complete the form after you sign in.

Open Amazon yourself. Type amazon.com, or the local Amazon site you shop on. Or open the app you already installed. A surprise order email gets checked by signing in. Amazon’s scam trends page says only real purchases show in your order history.

The longer checklist is Amazon account hacked. These steps follow Amazon.com help. Menus on other Amazon sites can differ. Where a UK page adds a deadline, we name the country.

Change the password if you can sign in

Change your password is three steps.

1. In Your Account, select Login & Security.
2. Next to Password, select Edit.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions and select Save changes.

Pick a password this account has never used. An unexpected one-time code is a warning. Amazon’s multi-factor authentication page says someone else may have your password. Reset it. Then check every account that used the same password, including email. Give each one its own password.

The reset code goes to the email or the phone on the Amazon login. If someone can read that inbox, they can reset Amazon again. Secure the mailbox first. The playbook is Personal email account hacked.

Reset the password if you cannot sign in

Use Reset Your Password.

1. Enter the email or mobile number on the account and select Continue.
2. Amazon sends a one-time password by email or by text, using the verification method already on the account. Enter it and select Continue.
3. Create a new password.

The new password is active as soon as you create it. It covers every Amazon-related account on that same email address.

Two-Step Verification may ask for a code you do not have. Try a backup method, or a device you have signed in on before. Amazon’s recovery page says you cannot change Two-Step Verification until that identity check succeeds. If the backup fails:

1. Select Sign in with Amazon.
2. Enter the phone number or email on the account.
3. Enter your password, or use a passkey, or sign in with a code.
4. On the code screen, select Didn’t Receive the Code.
5. Select Two-Step Verification Account Recovery.
6. Follow the steps until you are signed in.

Two-Step Verification then sits under Your Account, then Login & security. If you cannot reach the email, phone, or device Amazon asks for, contact Customer Service. The multi-factor page says that is the route.

If the account is on hold

Amazon puts an account on hold when it sees unusual payment activity. They call it a security review, done with you. The hold can follow a real takeover. It can also be a false alarm.

Regain access says:

1. Check email or text for an “Account on hold” note from Amazon.
2. Sign in to the account.
3. Complete the form, and include any attachments they ask for.

While the hold lasts, Amazon pauses its other services too, including Prime, Music, Kindle, Alexa, and Ring. You can still get messages about pending orders. The fastest way back is their secure sign-in portal. Send the details yourself. Customer Service can walk you through it, and they will ask you to follow those same steps.

In the UK, open Report an issue with account security actions. A security action there can cancel pending orders, disable the password, and sign you out. If your own orders are missing, sign in on that page. Reset the password if Amazon asks. Then verify a recent order. When the lock was a mistake, Amazon reviews the account and restores access within 24 hours.

Orders, addresses, and cards

Under Your Account, open Your Orders, Your Addresses, and Your Payments. Amazon names those three on its page about records after identity theft.

If the order from the email is missing, treat the email as fake and leave it. Only legitimate purchases appear in order history.

For an address you did not add, follow adding and deleting addresses:

1. Visit Your Addresses in Your Account.
2. Under that address, select Remove, then Yes.

Amazon will not remove an address that still has pending Subscribe and Save orders. Point that subscription somewhere else first. Removing an address here leaves open orders on the old one. For an open order, use Change Your Order Information.

For a card you did not add, follow Manage Payment Methods:

1. In Your Account, select Your Payments.
2. Select the card.
3. When it opens, select Remove from wallet.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Taking the card out of Your Payments leaves it on any open order. Change an open order under Change Your Order Information.

Then check the email and mobile number on the login. Change Your Account Settings says:

1. In Your Account, visit Login and Security.
2. Next to the detail you want to change, select Edit.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions and select Save Changes.
4. Select Done.

Keep the account safe says an email-only account is easier to attack. Add a mobile number, so alerts can reach the inbox and the phone.

Help pages label this menu three ways. You may see Login & Security, Login & security, or Login and Security.

Turn on Two-Step Verification or a passkey

Two-Step Verification sends a code at sign-in. You choose a text or an authenticator app. Sign-in then needs the password and the code.

1. In Your Account, select Login & security.
2. Select Edit for Two-Step Verification (2SV) Settings.
3. Select Get Started.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

On Amazon Business, the same page makes this required. Sign in with the business email and password. Open Business Settings, then Members, then Enhanced Security Settings.

A passkey signs you in with your face, fingerprint, or device PIN. About Passkey says Amazon never receives that biometric data. You can still use the password.

1. In Your Account, select Login & security.
2. Select Set up beside Passkeys.
3. Select Set up.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

You need iOS 16, macOS Big Sur, Android 9, or Windows 11, plus a current browser. A passkey stays on the marketplace where you created it. Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.in each need their own, or you use the password.

If you shared a password, a code, or your screen

Open Report a scam and pick the line that matches.

• I have not shared any information
• I have shared Amazon account information
• I have shared Banking information
• I have given remote access to my computer/devices
• I have shared other information

With no Amazon account, send the message to reportascam@amazon.com and attach it. Amazon cannot reply to you personally. You may get an automatic confirmation.

In the United States, report suspicious calls and texts at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Other countries use their own office. The card steps that change by country are in Scammed or fraudulent bank charge.

Hang up if the caller claims to be Amazon. Fake phone calls says to use the app, or the site you opened yourself. Amazon will not ask over the phone for a password, a one-time code, gift card details, or bank card details. A caller who wants software installed, or a code read aloud, is the scam. Check Your Orders instead.

Inside Amazon, open Customer Service, then Help with something else, then Report Something Suspicious. That path is on Report Suspicious Activity. For an order question, use Your Orders.

A card charge with no matching order

Start on Amazon Pay’s page for unauthorized charges.

1. Select Sign in, then Check your Amazon Pay orders.
2. Sign in with your Amazon credentials.
3. On the Activity tab, open Details & Support for that charge.

If the charge is there and you still do not recognise it, use the menu on that transaction. Choose File an A-to-Z Guarantee claim, or Report fraud or misuse. If it sits under Merchant agreements, go to Your Account and select Contact us.

Look for an ordinary cause before you treat it as theft. Someone at home may have used the card. Some Amazon charges show as Amazon Pay on a statement. A gift, or a back-order that just shipped, can look new.

If none of those fit, Amazon Pay says someone else may have the card. Then:

1. Call the bank or card issuer and ask them to block that payment method.
2. Ask for a chargeback if you want the money back. The issuer may want a police report or a written oath.
3. Check devices where that card was saved, and change the Amazon Pay password.
4. Turn on two-step verification.
5. Tell Amazon Pay buyer support, so they can watch that card.

Call the number on the card, or on a statement you already have. What you owe, and the deadline, depend on your country and on the card type. Make that call from Scammed or fraudulent bank charge.

A bank or a police report may also want Amazon’s copies of the orders. In the United States, that request sits on the same records page, separate from getting the login back. Email fcra-requests@amazon.com, or mail Amazon Legal Department, Attn: FCRA Records Requests, P.O. Box 80161, Seattle, WA 98108-9990. Include a government ID, a police report or an IdentityTheft.gov report, the transaction details, and a mailing address. Amazon says the copies are free. They answer within 30 days, unless they need more from you or the law allows longer.

What to check before you stop

You can sign in with the new password. Two-Step Verification or a passkey is on. Orders, addresses, and payments show only what you recognise. The email on the login is an inbox you control.

Do the prepare list on Amazon account hacked. If a charge hit the card, the next call is Scammed or fraudulent bank charge. If the inbox was involved, finish Personal email account hacked before you stop. The next reset code still goes there.

Related playbooks

• Amazon account hacked. Orders, a new address, or a payment method showed up on your Amazon account, or Amazon has put the account on hold.
• Scammed or fraudulent bank charge. Money left your account that you did not authorise, or you were talked into sending it and have just realised.
• Personal email account hacked. Someone else is in your email, which means they can reset the password on almost everything else you own.