Amazon Marketplace hacked

It's true. Amazon Marketplace was hacked. According to several media reports, fraudsters broke into the accounts of both active and inactive sellers and changed sellers' bank account information to divert sales proceeds into hackers' accounts. Fraudsters apparently accessed the accounts using email addresses and passwords purchased on the "dark web."

For active accounts, products were typically delivered as usual, but sellers weren't paid. For inactive accounts, the criminals didn't just change bank account information; they posted listings for merchandise they did not possess and set delivery dates for about a month from purchase date, hoping neither Amazon nor the seller would notice until after they'd absconded with the funds.

With the large number of brick-and-mortar merchants who have branched into selling their wares online, some merchants served by independent ISOs and merchant level salespeople have been making use of Amazon Marketplace. This arm of Amazon enables third-party sellers to take advantage of Amazon's enormous audience to reach customers they would otherwise not be able to access. While it's likely many merchants are aware of this breach, which reportedly has led to tens of thousands of dollars in losses, some merchant service providers are alerting their merchant base, so the merchants can check on the status of their Amazon Marketplace accounts, if any.

Amazon has stated customers who never received merchandise as a result of this intrusion will receive refunds, and sellers who suffered will also be made whole. The full extent of this hack is under investigation.

Editorial Note:

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