Amazon Accused Of Being Too Open-Handed With Consumer Data

An alleged security breach at Amazon has nothing to do with faulty technology — just basic human error.

Engadget shares the unfortunate experience of one Eric Springer (he had originally posted his firsthand account — sans complete last name — to Medium), who claims to have recently been the target of a hacking attempt on his Amazon account, one that was launched via online customer service chat windows and eventually moved to customer service calls.

Springer — who coincidentally used to work as a software developer for Amazon — attests that a curious follow-up email from the eCommerce giant regarding an exchange that had not actually happened (not on the real Eric Spinger’s end, anyway) led to his discovery that a hacker had impersonated him in both written chats and phone calls with Amazon customer service representatives, phishing for personal information and giving false identifying credentials in order to gain access to personal account information and the last four digits of his credit card.

What’s even more frustrating, expresses Springer, is that — despite his continued calls to Amazon support letting them know this was happening — those representatives continued to disregard his claims and failed to follow up. In the end, Springer gives sound advice for those retailers looking to provide outstanding customer support, while keeping their personal data secure.