Updated: 3:20 PM EDT Sep 2, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ

Allie Jasinski

National Consumer Correspondent

SEATTLE —

Amazon is rolling out a new tool to help customers know whether or not a message they received is actually from Amazon, or in fact, an impersonation scam.

The verification tool is housed under Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping feature. Customers can use Alexa for Shopping to ask about the message they received and provide information about where the message came from, when it arrived, and what it said.

Amazon officials say the tool uses artificial intelligence to compare what a customer received against a record of every message Amazon sent by analyzing who sent the message, what it says, when it was sent, and how it is formatted.

“Scammers thrive when customers can’t easily verify whether a message is real,” said Scott Knapp, vice president of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon. “That’s why we built a tool to put certainty directly in customers’ hands, in real time, when they need it most. It’s part of our broader commitment to educate and empower customers and protect them against scams.”

Officials say the tool only confirms a message is real when it’s completely certain. If it is from Amazon, the customer will see a response that reads, “Yes, this message is an official Amazon communication.”

If the message a customer received is not from Amazon, then they will see a response that reads, “This message does not appear to match any official Amazon communication based on the information provided.”

When the tool can’t verify with absolute certainty, it will default to providing a customer with guidance to retry or to reach out to verify@amazon.com.

National Consumer Correspondent Allie Jasinski tried out the tool to see how it responded to her prompts. Click the video player above to see what we learned.

The verification tool is only available in the United States through Alexa for Shopping at this time. In addition to the tool, Amazon partners with the Better Business Bureau to provide a searchable scam tracker as another way for customers to verify suspicious messages.

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