Received a strange email a few weeks back and now I'm suspended
I received an email which was apparently from Amazon. The contents of the email didn’t seemed not like something you would expect from Amazon. So I kept deleting the emails thinking it was a physhing attempt. Here is a copy of the first part.
Hello,
We recently contacted you to ask if (my name) is or was a politically exposed person. Because you have not provided this information, we are unable to process your application to open a Selling on Amazon payment account. As a result, you cannot sell on Amazon.
To proceed with your application, we need (my name) to reply and confirm if they are or have been a politically exposed person. This includes association or relation with someone who is or was a politically exposed person, such as a spouse, child, or business partner.
Please format the reply as a full sentence, as shown in the example below:
“I, [NAME OF THE RELEVANT INDIVIDUAL], confirm that I am not, nor have I ever been, a politically exposed person or have been associated/related with someone who is or was.
There is some more to it but hopefully you can see why I thought this is some kind of scam. Anyway now I’m suspended even though I have been trading on here for some years, so it’s not like I’m just applying to sell, I did that years ago. So I’m not sure whats going on, has anybody else had this email, or can anyone advise. I’m not a political person, although I don’t know what that has to do with selling on Amazon. Any help, advice or guidance appreciated.
36 replies
Seller_EJIX7rqDNQJi2
You shouldn’t be ignoring serious performance notifications just because you believe they are suspicious.
I have already seen multiple sellers who reported receiving identical communication from Amazon.
Simply respond by providing what they are asking for:
”To proceed with your application, we need (my name) to reply and confirm if they are or have been a politically exposed person.”
It indicates that your name matches the details of a politically exposed person and this is the reason why Amazon needs to have this confirmed.
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
Genuine email and, as you have found out, you should have completed the form and replied.
Best bet now is to comply with their request and ask to be reinstated, hopefully you shouldn’t need to do a full blown POA.
Seller_0pkMTMROIPEmY
This is genuine and forms part of UK/EU Anti money laundering measures, your simply signing a declaration you are not a politically exposed person, Amazon are simply incorporating Anti money laundering law into their verification process , as would be expected;
When to carry out enhanced due diligence
In some situations you must carry out ‘enhanced due diligence’. These situations are:
- when the customer is not physically present when you carry out identification checks
- when you enter into a business relationship with a ‘politically exposed person’ - typically, a non UK or domestic member of parliament, head of state or government, or government minister and their family members and known close associates
- when you enter into a transaction with a person from a high risk third country identified by the EU
- any other situation where there’s a higher risk of money laundering
Seller_Wqg5EgqxuOwDD
Tbh I’m not surprised you reacted as you did. We’re always told to be hyper vigilant re phishing scams and this email looks like nothing you’d expect to receive from Amazon. Hindsight is always 20/20 but my bet is that in your situation most of us would have done as you did and deleted.
I hope it’s a simple - and quick - process to get the suspension lifted.
Seller_bhSWqoVh7Pn98
Amazon do not help themselves when they do not also send via your Amazon Seller Account. I would point that out to them when replying as to why you did not reply as you thought a fraudulent email, how you checked etc.
Amazon emails, like a phishing email do not use sentences that are in general use, often are not grammatical, and even more often very poorly constructed, what we would probably term as ‘bad English’. So I can see why it is difficult to tell them apart. You would think Amazon could ensure they messaged via Amazon Seller Messaging, as a minimum, and even better if they constructed the email so it looked professional, as if it were from a Company that could afford it and not someone abroad that is using Google Translate
I do feel very sorry for you, had you replied and it was a phishing email then everyone would have said why did you reply to such a poorly constructed email, obviously fraud
Seller_LKjg1QRrO36Yq
You can check messages from Amazon in the message centre in your general Amazon account:
Your Account /E-mail alerts, messages, and ads/Message Centre
Official messages Amazon have a different format to customer messages so it might make it easier to weed out spam.
I don’t think anyone else has pointed to the message centre in this thread - not surprising really as it is not exactly prominently displayed.
I forget it’s there most of the time…
Seller_n33KwLeg9XOvi
Yeah I had this email a few years ago (September 2016). I contact Seller Support by telephone to confirm it was genuine, then replied to the email as requested. No issues since… Not sure the reasoning behind this from Amazon, and they never said why in the email - but do they ever.
So I just replied (as requested);
So Amazon have been sending these emails out for a few years now
Seller_AC6R8q0fSB4tN
Just a quick update, my account was reinstated this morning although it is still under review by the verification team. Everything should be fully resolved within 48 hours or so. I got the same question sent to me again but this time within my account indicated by the little red flag at the top of the page in seller central. I was guided to contact CS and spoke with someone from Ireland. He has now passed on my response to the question to the verification team. Hopefully that will be the end of the matter. The one good thing that has come of this, is that it has brought this to the attention of quite a few sellers. So if Amazon do ask you a question which you believe at first to be highly unusual, it may not be some sort of scam or phishing email as I first thought. The best advice I can now repeat is to either try to contact Amazon directly or come here for some help and advice rather than just assuming it’s a scam. Thanks to everyone for all your replies and input on this, it was much appreciated.
