Your Amazon account enabled you to enjoy a range of services and websites. How do you secure your account against intrusion from hackers and scammers? Follow this guide to keep your account safe.
Activate 2FA
Two-factor authentication is your account’s first line of defense against intrusion. You should always ensure your online account has 2FA activated.
Log into your Amazon account and click ‘Account & Lists.’ Ignore the dropdown box.
Click ‘Login & security.’
At this stage, Amazon may ask you to log in again for security reasons.
Click ‘Edit’ under the ‘Two-Step Verification’ heading.
Click ‘Get Started.’
Using a Phone for 2FA:
Enter your phone number, select ‘Text message (SMS)’ and click ‘Continue.’
Enter the one-time password sent to your phone and click ‘Continue.’
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click ‘Got it. Turn on Two-Step Verification’ to finish 2FA activation.
Using an App for 2FA:
Scroll down and click ‘Got it. Turn on Two-Step Verification’ to complete the process.
Be advised: If you are going to use an app instead of your phone number as the 2FA option, then you must ensure you keep backup codes or that you use Authy, the authenticator app, with a cloud backup. If you lose your phone without a backup of your 2FA-codes to log in, you’ll lose access to your account.
Clean up Your Account
Amazon accounts require occasional maintenance to ensure they’re kept safe. You should ensure any old pieces of information, such as expired credit cards, are removed from your account. Hackers could use these old pieces of information to gain access to your account in the future potentially.
You should remove information like old addresses and phone numbers. Having this sort of account clutter could make the recovery process take longer. Keep only currently relevant information saved to your account to keep yourself safe.
Don’t Reuse Old Passwords
If your Amazon password uses the same password you use for other accounts; you need to change it immediately. Sharing password across many different accounts leaves every account with that password vulnerable. You should use a strong, unique password for each new account you create.
You should use a password generator to come up with a strong and unique password. If you’re concerned about remembering all your passwords, use a password manager. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox both offer built-in password saving.
Struggling with your password choices? Please read our guide on the most common password mistakes.
Don’t Share Your Account Information
More than any other online account, you should keep your Amazon account private. Your credit card information, phone number, and address are kept on your account, so sharing passwords with someone gives them access to all of your sensitive data. Even if you trust the person asking, you can’t be sure they’ll be as careful as you are with your account.
Amazon comes with household-sharing features built-in. If you want to share account benefits with someone, household-sharing is the best way to do it.
If you’re worried about your account security, order our comprehensive security audit here.
You should visit our guide on hacked Amazon account recovery here.
Featured image by Worawee Meepian from Shutterstock.com