A valley woman says her Amazon account was hacked. She reached out to Action News when she says she couldn't get any help. Contact 13 looks at what you can do to protect yourself, and what we learned after talking to Amazon.
"And I'm like screaming at the computer," says Jeanette Pizarro.
She couldn't log into her Amazon Prime account. She says someone changed her password. Jeanette called Amazon right away, but says customer service wasn't very understanding.
"I was getting more frustrated because I was like, I don't care if you don't believe who I am. Delete all my credit cards off there. Shut it down so nothing can be done. Please," says Jeanette.
But Jeanette says her problem just got worse. After contacting Amazon, she started getting some rather nasty emails. Dozens of them, accusing her of selling items through Amazon, but not delivering.
"It was like I was some sort of company. People are buying tumbler sets, stools, bedding sets for the kids," says Jeanette.
In this email, a woman who bought Batman sheets, is demanding a refund. Jeanette responded, telling her to contact Amazon.
"I have no access to my account. Someone hacked into it. I am not a merchant," says Jeanette.
But the shopper wrote back, accusing Jeanette of lying. And even after reporting this all to Amazon, the company still sent Jeanette this email, asking her to update her "Seller Account Information."
"I don't have any items to sell," says Jeanette.
Frustrated, Jeanette reached out to Contact 13. We called Amazon and were surprised to learn, they say Jeanette's account wasn't hacked. So if she's not the one selling stuff, and she wasn't hacked, what happened? Amazon's response is simple, to the point, and frustrating. The company refuses to discuss the case, saying only... "no comment."
So we asked, what can others do to protect their Amazon accounts? The company says: monitor your account. Update your password regularly. And use two-factor authentication. If anything looks suspicious, reach out to Amazon.
"You can call customer service. You can email customer service. You can write a letter to the company," says Rhonda Mettler with the Better Business Bureau.
She says it's important to file your customer complaint every way possible, to make sure your voice is heard.
"This particular company does happen to be BBB accredited. So as such, they are required to address any grievances that are presented to them," says Mettler.
And despite having more than 9,000 complaints in the last 3 years, Amazon has responded to every one, earning the company an "A" rating with the Better Business Bureau. As for Jeanette, while Amazon has finally fixed her account, she says they've never provided her with any answers about what happened.
"I want somebody to call me and say we have your back... That's it. That's all I want," says Jeanette.
