Amazon Files 3 Lawsuits in Single Day to Halt Prime Video 'Impersonation' Scams

Amazon filed nearly identically worded lawsuits in three federal courts Thursday seeking to halt separate sets of alleged fraudsters from running the “impersonation” scams that dupe consumers into buying fake Amazon support services for activating Prime Video on their devices.

Code Connect Solutions is the lead defendant in the action that Amazon filed in U.S. District Court for Eastern North Carolina in New Bern (docket 5:23-cv-00650). Elly Infotech fills that role in the lawsuit Amazon filed in U.S. District Court for Arizona in Phoenix (docket 2:23-cv-02353). Digital Home Solutions is the lead defendant in the complaint that Amazon filed in U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Atlanta (docket 1:23-cv-05175).

Amazon alleges in all three complaints that the defendants and the call centers they work with are part of the “scam ecosystem” that enables the impersonation schemes. Davis Wright represents Amazon in all three lawsuits.

The schemes begin with misleading websites that deceive consumers into believing they are interacting directly with Amazon, say the complaints. But instead of activating the customer’s devices, the websites present fake error messages that prompt customers to call to resolve the nonexistent issues, they said.

Instead of calling Amazon, the victims are actually phoning the fraudsters, who convince them that they need Prime account upgrades to receive the full benefits of Prime Video, said the complaints. The fraudsters then charge victims hundreds of dollars each for these “entirely fake services,” they said.

The websites that the fraudsters control and operate use Amazon logos and “other tactics” to deceive victims into believing they’re affiliated with Prime Video and Amazon, said the complaints. When victims arrive on the fraudulent websites, they see a “virtual replication” of Amazon’s legitimate registration page, they said. The websites also “intentionally mimic Amazon’s designs and color schemes,” including the “general format” of the registration page and its dark button with white text labeled, “Register Device,” they said.

The websites deceive victims into calling the fraudsters at the provided phone numbers when the device activation function shows an unspecified error message, said the complaints. Those who call typically are falsely told they won’t have access to the “full benefits” associated with Prime Video without buying a three-year Prime activation for $199, they said.

The legitimate Amazon offers free customer support “for any issues that may arise” involving its products and services, including Prime Video, said the complaints. Customers can contact Amazon through “a variety of channels,” including by accessing Amazon’s website and by phone, they said. Amazon doesn’t charge for that support and doesn’t charge customers for activating Prime Video on their devices, they said.

“Technical support scams,” as they’re called, “affect millions of Americans every year, resulting in billions of dollars in reported losses,” said the complaints. Beyond just the financial losses, scam victims often suffer “negative psychological effects,” similar to those of other crime victims, “that may last longer than the financial harm,” they said. But the “complete impact” of the scams is unknown, because “not all victims report their experiences,” they said: “Some victims may not even be aware that they have been scammed.”

Amazon seeks permanent injunctions in both complaints barring the defendants from continuing the impersonation scams. It seeks an order requiring the defendants to provide Amazon with “a full and complete accounting of all gross and net amounts earned” in connection with the unlawful schemes, said the complaints. Amazon also wants the defendants to be required to pay “all general, special, actual, and statutory damages” that it has sustained, or will sustain, as a consequence of the unlawful conduct, said the complaints. Those damages should be “enhanced, doubled, or trebled” as provided “or otherwise allowed” under federal law, they said.