Most shoppers love Amazon. Hard not to with the free 2-day shipping, cool Prime perks, and competitive pricing. But with Amazon’s popularity comes growing security concerns as hackers try to crack the huge database of shoppers and their linked credit cards. If for some unforeseeable reason your Amazon account gets hacked, here are the 6 things you need to do right away…

1. Immediately Change Your Amazon Password

If you think your Amazon account was hacked for ANY reason, the first thing you should do is immediately login to your account and change your password.

To make this happen just click on Accounts & Lists, followed by Your Account, then Login & Security.

Make your new password a string of random numbers and letters and not actual words.

Then write it down somewhere for safe keeping.

If you need help generating a strong password, I’m a big fan of StrongPasswordGenerator.com.

It would also be REALLY smart to change the password on the email account associated with your Amazon account.

In many cases this is how hackers gain access to your Amazon account if you’re signed up with Amazon’s 2-step verification system.

In other words, if they can get into your email account it becomes easy to also get into your Amazon account.

Important: DO NOT use the same password that you use on other popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

See Also: 6 Out-Of-The-Box Ways to Score Amazon Prime for Free or Cheap

2. Check Your Account Information

Next, click around your Amazon account carefully and make sure nothing has been altered.

Check your linked credit cards (if any), billing address, shipping address, phone number, and email address.

If any information has been changed, be sure to note the change (with a screen capture) and then correct it.

At this point you should call Amazon’s security department at (888) 282-2406 and tell them that your account has been breached.

They’ll be able to provide further assistance and help you keep an eye on your account activity in the coming days.

3. Check Purchase History (Especially Archived Orders)

Next, take a look at your Amazon order history and make sure you recognize all recent purchases.

Don’t forget to click on Archived Orders as often times hackers will “hide” fraudulent orders there.

You’ll find all of your archived orders in the “Ordering and Shopping Preferences” section of your Amazon account. See screenshot above.

See Also: Amazon Return Policy: No More Confusion, Here’s EXACTLY How It Works

4. Enable Amazon 2-Step Verification

By turning on 2-Step Authentication your Amazon account is much harder to hack into.

Essentially it requires a security code to be entered whenever you attempt to access your account from a new computer, smartphone, or tablet.

To authenticate, Amazon will simply shoot you a text message with a security code attached that you manually enter.

Very easy to do and definitely helps keep hackers out of your account.

5. Consider Un-Linking Credit Cards

Having your credit card(s) linked to your account makes ordering much easier. Believe me, I know.

But it also creates an easy way for hackers to make unauthorized purchases on those cards.

A simple workaround is to un-link all payment methods from your Amazon account.

Yes, you’ll have to enter your card info every time you make a purchase, BUT you won’t have to worry about someone hacking into your account and making a bunch of purchases.

6. Check all Credit Card Accounts

At this point it’s also smart to check all of your credit cards that are linked to your Amazon account.

Make sure none of them have any unauthorized purchases on them.

Bonus: 3 Ways to Protect Yourself From Future Attacks

1. Never Click on Phishy Emails

If you get a supposed email from Amazon about your account, but it just doesn’t look right, DO NOT click on any links within the email.

Also, check the email address of the sender. Often times these phishing emails will NOT be from an address ending with @amazon.com. Stay far away from those.

2. Don’t Access your Amazon Account Over Unsecured Network

In other words, try not to shop online when sipping a latte at Starbucks if you’re using their free WiFi.

3. Get Into Your Account if Hacker Changes Email Address

Well, in short, you CAN’T get into your Amazon account if this happens.

You’ll have to immediately call Amazon at (888) 280-4331 and they can remove the fraudulent email address and lock your account until the issue is resolved.

Ask the Reader: Has your Amazon account ever been hacked? How did the hacker get into your account and what damage was done?

By Kyle James