Fake Amazon site, just an FYI

[winnietrey]

The tech savvy folks, will say to this, Well Duh. But for the rest of us mere mortals. An FYI

If you Google amazon, you will see a listing pop-up at the top of the page, which looks exactly like the Amazon website (same URL, etc). Except that, it says AD, in the upper left hand corner. So if you are not paying attention, it can end badly, if you click on it

Website is fake, it will immediately flash a message, your computer has been infected and so on, and try to upload a virus.

And before someone asks, what does this have to do with general rving. Answer is pretty much zero. But general seems to get a lot more traffic than ATC, so I posted here

Google Amazon for yourself, you will see what I am talking about. With this exception, the fake website may only target certain states and or zip codes, I would have no knowledge

[Almot]

fj12ryder wrote:
That isn't my statement, not that I completely disagree mind you.

My apologies, the quote by somebody else happened to be in your post. Will go back and correct now.

[fj12ryder]

Almot wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Brick and mortar makes this country great.

They mostly sell same Chinese items as Amazon, only QC is better because they take time to locate a reliable US distributor (of Chinese items) or a Chinese manufacturer. On Amazon chances of getting a lemon are higher. $8/hr wages of store clerks hardly make this country great, you can barely survive on that.

Back to the OP post.
If your browser lands on a fake Amazon page, it is possible that you already have a virus. When I dial "amazon.com", or linked URL reads "amazon.com", I land on Amazon - the real one. My browser won't redirect to anywhere without a warning (Firefox).

Keep an eye on the address bar at the top of the page.
Install some decent antivir, not Win 10 Defender. Bitdefender works well as a standby antivir, almost always will warn - before connecting - that some page is a virus farm. Run free Malwarebytes from time to time, too.

That isn't my statement, not that I completely disagree mind you.

[bobm253]

Happened to me once when I was going to facebook. The link was right on top and when I clicked on it got a flashing screen and advised my system was infected etc. Was able to close down and resolved the issue.

[Farmboy666]

Cydog15 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Thanks for the warning. Amazon is my #1 choice for on-line RV parts so for me, it applies.

My last choice. Brick and mortar makes this country great. Even my local Ace Hardware/Lowes is where I buy my tools. You should think about it. Buying from somebody sitting in their den in their underwear or a man or woman that gets up and goes to work.

So nobody gets up and goes to work at Amazon? How does the stuff get in the boxes and on the truck and delivered? Seems like a lot of people getting paid for working through out the whole process.

[1492]

As mentioned, this is not a scam. Here is an explanation of Google 'paid' AdWords here.

[Almot]

Cydog15 wrote:
Brick and mortar makes this country great.

They mostly sell same Chinese items as Amazon, only QC is better because they take time to locate a reliable US distributor (of Chinese items) or a Chinese manufacturer. On Amazon chances of getting a lemon are higher. $8/hr wages of store clerks hardly make this country great, you can barely survive on that.

Back to the OP post.
If your browser lands on a fake Amazon page, it is possible that you already have a virus. When I dial "amazon.com", or linked URL reads "amazon.com", I land on Amazon - the real one. My browser won't redirect to anywhere without a warning (Firefox).

Keep an eye on the address bar at the top of the page.
Install some decent antivir, not Win 10 Defender. Bitdefender works well as a standby antivir, almost always will warn - before connecting - that some page is a virus farm. Run free Malwarebytes from time to time, too.

[beemerphile1]

When clicking on an ad, the initial site is not Amazon, it is a redirect site and then goes to Amazon. Google does it that way for information gathering, click counting, and billing. It isn't just Amazon, it is all sponsored sites.

The OP's ad blocker (not antivirus) software sees it as a redirect site and blocks the redirect and displays a warning. Just a guess, the OP may be using Ghostery.

[AllegroD]

I believe you are seeing Amazon marketing sites, which provide a marketing service and have a green HD beside them. They are not the same URL. Can't be the same. The green HD, I believe is a Amazon marketing affiliate.

I always hover before I click any link, especially those embedded in a clear name.

[delwhjr]

winnietrey wrote:
The tech savvy folks, will say to this, Well Duh. But for the rest of us mere mortals. An FYI

If you Google amazon, you will see a listing pop-up at the top of the page, which looks exactly like the Amazon website (same URL, etc). Except that, it says AD, in the upper left hand corner. So if you are not paying attention, it can end badly, if you click on it

Website is fake, it will immediately flash a message, your computer has been infected and so on, and try to upload a virus.

And before someone asks, what does this have to do with general rving. Answer is pretty much zero. But general seems to get a lot more traffic than ATC, so I posted here

Google Amazon for yourself, you will see what I am talking about. With this exception, the fake website may only target certain states and or zip codes, I would have no knowledge

The pop-up is a plant from a previous visit to some other website. The pop-up is random and shows up later to disguise the original infected site. It is missed by many of the virus protectors and even some of the pop-up blockers. It will randomly show again sometime down the road. Clear your browser history and cache including cookies and it should go away. It is not one of the nastier ones and it seems to like chrome the best for propagating.

[mtrumpet]

Cydog15 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Thanks for the warning. Amazon is my #1 choice for on-line RV parts so for me, it applies.

My last choice. Brick and mortar makes this country great. Even my local Ace Hardware/Lowes is where I buy my tools. You should think about it. Buying from somebody sitting in their den in their underwear or a man or woman that gets up and goes to work.

Not saying you're at all wrong for attempting to patronize the brick & mortar stores as much as possible (I myself am a big fan of ACE Hardware), but you have to keep in mind that Amazon has large distribution centers across the country that employ a lot of workers. (We have one less than a mile from where I work and the place is massive!) Ad to that, UPS, FedEx, DHL etc. and the amount of logistical people and support personnel it takes. That makes for quite an employment roll.

[pnichols]

It sure would be great if someone would post a link here in this discussion that comes right up like what the OP describes. :C

Using Bing or Firefox, I can't get an Amazon screen to show like what the OP describes. :h

P.S. I never use the simple default Google search screen anyway. I always use Google's "Advanced Search" screen for searches .... it's way more powerful and precision than the default Google screen.

[2oldman]

Cydog15 wrote:
Buying from somebody sitting in their den in their underwear or a man or woman that gets up and goes to work.

Den in underwear? That would be Ebay, not Amazon.

[crazyro]

As it was already mentioned, it is NOT a scam. It's simply a sponsored/paid link. Companies pay to show up at the top of the results page. (research Pay Per Click, SEM, etc.) If you use that link, you're actually costing Amazon. Simply go to amazon.com and you're all good.

[fj12ryder]

Cydog15 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Thanks for the warning. Amazon is my #1 choice for on-line RV parts so for me, it applies.

My last choice. Brick and mortar makes this country great. Even my local Ace Hardware/Lowes is where I buy my tools. You should think about it. Buying from somebody sitting in their den in their underwear or a man or woman that gets up and goes to work.

I really don't see any problem, they both are trying to earn a living. What does what they're wearing have to do with anything?

Athough Amazon is far from my first choice for much of anything, except maybe to see what's the most I would need to pay. They're usually higher than most, even with the "free" shipping.