Unrecognised Amazon or Takealot order: the fake call or SMS to "cancel" it

Unrecognised Amazon or Takealot order: the fake call or SMS to "cancel" it

"This is the Amazon security department. We have detected a purchase of an iPhone for R24 999 on your account. If you did not make this purchase, press 1." Sometimes it is a recorded voice, sometimes a person with a well-rehearsed script, and sometimes an SMS with a link to "cancel the order". The name might be Amazon, Takealot, PayPal, a big retailer or any well-known online shop. What never changes is the goal: that, in your rush to stop a charge that does not exist, you hand over your card details, an OTP from your bank or control of your phone or computer.

How does this scam work?

The script repeats with few variations:

1. The bait. An automated call, an SMS or a WhatsApp message warns you about an expensive order you do not recognise: a phone, a laptop, a gaming console, gift vouchers. The amount is high on purpose so that you panic.
2. The handover to an "agent". If you press a key, call back or tap the link, someone answers who introduces themselves as the security team or customer service. They often know your name, and sometimes your address, because that data circulates from old breaches.
3. The "cancellation". To "cancel the purchase" or "refund your money" they ask for one of these:
   • your full card details, "to verify you are the cardholder";
   • the OTP you have just received by SMS, which actually approves a payment or a change in your online banking;
   • that you install a "support" or "remote access" app (AnyDesk, TeamViewer, QuickSupport or similar) so "a technician can fix it";
   • that you log in to your online banking "while they watch" to "process the refund".
4. The hit. With your card they make purchases; with the OTP they approve payments or link your card to their phone; with remote access they see your screen, read your SMSs and move your money while you think they are helping you.

There is a particularly twisted variant: the fake "over-refund". With remote access, the scammer changes what you see on screen so it looks as if you were refunded R10 000 instead of R1 000, and then anxiously asks you to "send back the difference" by EFT or gift vouchers. There was never any refund: the money you send is your own.

What are the warning signs?

• They warn you about a purchase you cannot see in the shop's official app. If the order does not appear under your orders, it does not exist.
• They rush you: "the order ships in 30 minutes", "if you hang up we can't stop it".
• They ask you to install an app to cancel an order. No shop needs to control your device to cancel a purchase.
• They ask for OTPs sent by SMS. Those codes are your signature: anyone asking for them over the phone wants to use them.
• They ask you to pay in order to get money back: gift vouchers, transfers or "sending back the difference".
• The link in the SMS does not lead to the official website, but to a similar address with extra letters or words.
• The number looks legitimate. Do not trust it: the number on screen can be faked (spoofing), and a familiar name on caller ID proves nothing.

What do I do right now if they call or the SMS arrives?

1. Hang up or do not reply. Do not press any key, do not call back the number they give you and do not tap the link.
2. Check for yourself. Open the shop's official app or type its address into your browser yourself and look at your orders. If nothing looks odd, you have your answer.
3. If there really is an order you do not recognise, cancel it in the app or contact the shop through the help section of its official website or app, never through the number the caller gave you.
4. Do not give out details, OTPs or passwords, even if the person knows your name, your address or the last digits of your card.
5. Do not install anything that someone who contacted you out of the blue asks you to install.
6. Block the number and report it in the spam numbers directory to warn others.

One simple rule sums it up: if they call you, hang up and call them yourself through a channel you looked up on your own.

What if I've already given details or installed the app?

Act fast and in this order:

1. Cut the connection. If you installed a remote access app, end the session, disconnect the device from the internet (flight mode or Wi-Fi off) and uninstall the app.
2. Call your bank's fraud line now, on the number on the back of your card or in the banking app, not one the caller gave you. Ask them to block the card, review recent transactions and stop any pending payment. The sooner you call, the more options there are.
3. Change your passwords, from another clean device if you can: your email first, then online banking and your shop account. Switch on two-step verification.
4. Check your shop account: signed-in devices, new delivery addresses, saved cards and gift voucher balance. Remove anything you do not recognise.
5. Check the device. If someone had remote access, run a trusted antivirus and, if in doubt, back up your data and reset the device.
6. Keep the evidence: screenshots of the SMSs, the number that called you, the time, proof of any payment and the name of the app you installed.
7. Open a case at your nearest police station (SAPS) with all of the above and ask for the case number. Your bank will usually ask for it.

If there have already been charges or transfers, you will find more about getting money back on our blog.

Where do I report it and who can help me?

• SAPS: open a case at your nearest police station. If you are in immediate danger, call 10111, or 112 from a cellphone.
• Your bank, always through its official channels. If the bank does not resolve your complaint, you can take it to the National Financial Ombud Scheme.
• SABRIC, the banks' risk information centre, publishes awareness material on remote access and card fraud that helps you check whether a message is part of a known pattern.
• The shop itself: big platforms have a section in their help pages for reporting suspicious messages or calls that use their name.

Frequently asked questions

Does Amazon or Takealot ever call me about a suspicious purchase? A shop may contact you, but it will not ask you over the phone for your card details, OTPs from your bank or to install remote access software. If in any doubt, hang up and check your orders in the official app.

I don't have an account with that shop and they called me anyway. Why? Because the calls are made in bulk. They use the best-known names, knowing that many people will have an account. The fact that you do not have one confirms it is fraud.

I only pressed 1 and hung up. Is that a problem? Usually not. Most likely they have confirmed your number is active and you will get more attempts. Do not give any details on later calls and block the numbers.

I gave them my card details but not the OTP. Am I safe? Not entirely. Call your bank to block the card: with those details they can try purchases at shops that do not ask for extra verification, and they will call you again to get the OTP.

In short

A purchase you do not recognise is checked in the shop's official app, never from the call or link that announces it. Nobody legitimate needs your OTPs, your card or control of your phone to cancel an order. If you have already fallen for it, cut off access, call your bank's fraud line, change your passwords and open a case. An app like NoCall can warn you that a number has already been reported by other people before you answer, and if you get one of these calls, report it in the NoCall spam numbers directory: your report helps other people hang up in time.