Dr. Cindy Smith started getting so many random packages from Amazon that they blocked her front door. We’re talking over 100 Amazon boxes filled with random stuff like 1,000 headlamps, 800 glue guns and dozens of pairs of kids’ binoculars. Everything was addressed to Lixiao Zhang.
A case of mistaken identity? Nope. A third-party seller picked a random address to send its unsold merch to instead of paying Amazon to get rid of it. Yes, the Virginia woman gets to keep all of it.
Despite having to deal with all this stuff, Cindy was lucky that her account wasn’t hacked. It happens, though, and receiving something you didn’t order is one tip-off. Time to check your account, folks.
🎧 Btw, Cindy was on my national radio show! Subscribe to my podcast to listen to our chat later this week.
Check your Amazon orders
- Sign into your Amazon account, hover your cursor over the Account & Lists tab, and choose Orders.
- Look for anything suspicious or unexpected. If you share an account, check with the other people with access.
- On the Orders page, select the drop-down menu next to orders placed and choose Archived Orders. See anything you didn’t buy? Major red flag.
Now look through your reviews
- Sign into your Amazon account, hover your cursor over the Account & Lists tab, and choose Account.
- Scroll to the Ordering and shopping preferences section and tap Your Amazon profile.
- Scroll down and you’ll see your reviews. Look for anything you didn’t write.
How to change your Amazon password
Change your password now if there are signs someone else is poking around.
- Sign into your Amazon account, hover your cursor over the Account & Lists tab, and choose Account.
- Select Login & security and enter your password to verify it’s you. (NOTE: If you have 2FA enabled, enter the code you receive.)
- Select Edit next to Password.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to finish.
Make sure you have two-factor authentication enabled, too. That will alert you if someone on a random device is attempting to access your account.
While you’re at it, look at your Amazon public profile. Yes, I said public. Pro tip: If you receive something you didn’t order, report the package with Amazon’s Report Unwanted Package form. Yep, you still get to keep it.