Did you recently purchase something on Amazon, give them your payment information for auto-reload, and then find out a couple of days later that your account has been put on hold? You’ve probably wondered why this happened and what you can do to get it resolved as soon as possible. Let’s face it, there are some weird things that can happen when shopping online. Maybe someone else used your email address to create an Amazon account without telling you about it. Maybe a friend gave you their password to see if you could find anything interesting on their wish list. Or maybe there was another reason with which we are not familiar. Regardless of how any of this happened, being put on hold is never fun! But rest assured that there is almost definitely a logical explanation for why your account was placed on hold. The following article will explain why your Amazon account has been put on hold and what you can do about it if the situation applies to you.
Why is My Amazon Account on Hold?
There could be a number of reasons why your Amazon account is on hold. It could be that you have not provided Amazon with the required documentation, or it could be that there is an issue with your payment method. If you are unsure why your account is on hold, you can contact Amazon customer service for more information.
Why Was My Amazon Account Put on Hold?
You purchased something from a different seller than the one you normally use.
This is by far the most common reason why Amazon accounts are put on hold. In order to protect your account from being used by someone else, Amazon will block your account if it detects that you have purchased something from a different seller than you normally use.
You gave someone else your password.
If you have given a friend or family member your password to log in to your Amazon account, then they can create an account and make purchases without ever telling you about it! This is what’s called “phishing”, and it is one of the most common ways in which people are scammed online! If this has happened to you, then please contact Amazon immediately so they can remove all of the fraudulent purchases made by this person and prevent them from making any more in the future.
You were hacked or phished.
Another common reason why your Amazon account has been put on hold is that someone has hacked into it and made fraudulent purchases, or because someone has phished (or “spoofed”) your email address in order to make fraudulent purchases through that email address! If this is what happened to you, then please contact Amazon immediately so they can remove all of the fraudulent purchases made by this person and prevent them from making any more in the future (this means giving them the new password that was created when they logged into their new account).
You changed your password too many times.
If you have changed your password too many times in a short period of time, then your Amazon account may be put on hold because it is a security measure designed to stop others from accessing your account through the password that you have chosen. If this is the case, then please contact Amazon immediately so they can remove all of the fraudulent purchases made by this person and prevent them from making any more in the future.
You are using an invalid email address to log in to your account.
Amazon will block an account if it detects that an email address used to log into it is not valid, or if it has been used by another person who has not verified their identity (by providing a valid government-issued photo ID) before they make a purchase through that email address. If this is what happened to you, then please contact Amazon immediately so they can remove all of the fraudulent purchases made by this person and prevent them from making any more in the future (this means giving them the new password that was created when they logged into their new account).
You are trying to make a purchase with someone else’s payment information or gift card number.
If you are trying to make a purchase using someone else’s payment information or gift card number, then Amazon will block your account until either you delete those items from your wish list OR wait until they receive confirmation from the other person that they want to cancel the purchase. If this is what happened to you, then please contact Amazon immediately so they can remove all of the fraudulent purchases made by this person and prevent them from making any more in the future (this means giving them the new password that was created when they logged into their new account).
You are trying to make a purchase using a credit card that is linked to another person’s account.
If you are trying to make a purchase using a credit card that is linked to another person’s account, then Amazon will block your account until either you delete those items from your wish list OR wait until they receive confirmation from the other person that they want to cancel the purchase. If this is what happened to you, then please contact Amazon immediately so they can remove all of the fraudulent purchases made by this person and prevent them from making any more in the future (this means giving them the new password that was created when they logged into their new account).
Your address information has changed since you last used your Amazon account.
If your address information has changed since you last used your Amazon account, then it may be possible for someone else who has access to your old address information (such as through phishing)to make fraudulent purchases through your old address information! If this is what happened to you, then please contact Amazon immediately so they can remove all of the fraudulent purchases made by this person and prevent them from making any more in the future.
Someone Else Is Using Your Account
- If you just purchased something that you’re waiting to be delivered, and Amazon has already billed your credit card for the order, then it’s likely that your account was put on hold because someone else is using it. This is because the billing information is tied to the account. When someone else uses your account and makes a purchase, an email will automatically be sent to you letting you know what they bought. If there were two people in your household who purchased something recently, then Amazon might have sent an email to both of them.
- If you have a Prime membership, and someone else in your household was signed up for a Prime membership without telling you about it, then this could also be the reason why your account has been put on hold. People sometimes share their Prime membership with others who are not family members or close friends so that they can get free shipping when purchasing things online. In this case, if another person signed up for their own free trial or paid full price for a subscription with the same email address as yours (and they did not cancel their subscription), then they too would receive an email letting them know that their account has been placed on hold due to duplicate/shared accounts being created by multiple people using one email address.
- Someone may have used your credit card information without permission from you and made purchases in addition to what was originally charged to your card (if only one purchase was made). For example, if someone found out your credit card number and used it to make a purchase, then your account would be placed on hold until you had been notified that the card has been compromised. The same goes for someone else in your household who may have stolen your credit card number from somewhere online.
- If you are the primary person on the account, then it is possible that an email has been sent to you about another person’s purchase, and the other person used their own Amazon account to make the purchase instead of their own Amazon account. If this is the case, then you can simply log into your own Amazon account and place a new order with them (or with yourself) to complete a transaction before it is reported as lost or stolen.
You’ve Been Accused Of Conducting Fraud
- If you recently bought something from Amazon and paid for it with a credit card, then your account was most likely put on hold because Amazon detected fraudulent activity.
- If you used a gift card to pay for something, then your account was most likely put on hold because of suspected fraudulent activity.
- If you have been using the same credit card to make multiple purchases online, then your account was most likely put on hold because of suspected fraudulent activity.
- If your Amazon account has been placed on hold for more than 24 hours, then your account was most likely put on hold because of suspected fraudulent activity.
- If you have received a request to update your payment information, then your account was most likely put on hold because of suspected fraudulent activity.
- If you are using the same email address and password as someone else who’s also trying to access your Amazon accounts, then that’s probably why they are putting you on hold and it’s not really fraud at all! You can get them off hold by changing their email address or password. Don’t worry! It won’t affect any transactions that have already taken place and will only take a few minutes at most to do so.
Conclusion
The good news is that the vast majority of people will never experience this. While it is true that Amazon has a strict policy when it comes to returns and refunds, they also have a very fair policy when it comes to account holds. This means that only a small minority of people will ever find themselves in this situation. While it can be discouraging when it happens, there are ways to resolve it and get your account back in good standing. The key is to stay calm, get in touch with Amazon, and follow the instructions that they give you.
