You might be wondering why there is an unknown Amazon purchase on your credit card. In particular, it could be an unknown or unauthorized Amazon Digital Svcs charge. If this is the case, you can check the Your Digital Orders section in your Amazon account because it is indicated there.
Amazon.com actually has Amazon Digital Services as part of its platform. Commonly, an unknown Amazon charge applies to the apps that you use. You should take a look at the apps that have been downloaded on your device because you might have paid for some of them. If there is an error, you can contact Amazon Customer Support so that it can be removed
Unknown Amazon Prime Charges
If you are an Amazon Prime member, the monthly fee is typically a recurring charge if you have subscribed to the Kindle Free Time service, if intended for one child. If it is for the use of up to 4 kids, there would be monthly charges of $6.99 for access to your preferred series and kindle books. Your subscription to the Kindle unlimited service will entail a $9.99 Amazon digital services charge.
Initially, you will enjoy a free trial period for subscribing to Amazon Prime. However, after this, you will be charged an annual membership that costs $99.00. If you wish to opt out of this service to steer clear of the charges, you can go to the “Manage Your Prime Membership” page and cancel your Amazon Prime subscription.
If you have downloaded the Hulu app, you will be charged of $8.75, normally after its trial period has expired. If you tried using the Hulu app through Amazon, you might also have activated the auto renewal feature for the subscription service.
There are other potential reasons for unknown charges on your credit card from Amazon. It could happen if you have downloaded a game, or other software such as Microsoft Office, PhotoShop, or Turbo Tax, among others. A pre-ordered book to enjoy audio series and kindle can result in an authorized charge as well, or if you want to avail of movies TV shows original, you can be charged without notice for your Amazon TV subscription. MP3’s you may have tried that shows original audio series could pull an unknown payment, along with a video purchase for music movies tv shows and more. It would be helpful if you look through the settings located in the “Manage Your Content and Devices” section in your account.
Not following the instructions when you have borrowed from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library can have you charged unknowingly for using a free book. These and a host of other factors can make you pay Amazon without your knowledge.
How To Prevent Unknown Charges For Amazon Digital Services
For one thing, you should have a working email linked to your Amazon account. If you do so, Amazon will notify you by email (as a customer), if you have made an Amazon digital purchase. Likewise, you can look into your Amazon account and deactivate the 1-click checkout along with the 1-click check out for digital content. The one-click feature is actually activated by default, so in case someone or your kids purchases an item, it would be charged to your credit card. Turning the one-click option off would require more steps to carry out for purchasing something, and your kids are likely unable to do it.
What About Fraudulent Purchases?
For the most part, unauthorized charges at Amazon digital services happen by accident, and these can be rectified when you report them to Amazon, or do pertinent transaction with your bank. Amazon will help you with these issues by contacting their customer support and phone number. Take note of the details so that you can be clear about your complaint.
Then again, there are many instances in the same way when the said purchases are fraudulent because an unknown party may have hacked your account and purchased something.
What To Do If Your Amazon Account Gets Hacked
The following are 6 things you must do immediately if someone has hacked your Amazon account.
- Change your password at once. Log in to your Amazon account immediately and click on Accounts & Lists, then go to Your Account, and then proceed to Login & Security. When setting your new password, make it a series of random letters and numbers. Don’t place actual words on it. Note your new password down and keep it safe. Do the same thing to the email account that you have linked to your Amazon account.
- Look over the information in Your Account. This is to verify if certain details and options have been altered. Particularly check the linked credit cards, the shipping address, and the billing address. Take a good look at the email address and the phone number. Make sure that they are the correct details. If any information has been changed, screen capture it first, and then correct it. Then call the Amazon security department to report that your account has been breached.
- Scrutinize the Purchase History details (especially the Archived Orders). Go over your order history on your Amazon account. and make sure that you recognize the recent ones. Particularly scrutinize the “archived orders” section because this is where hackers tend to hide fraudulent purchases. You can find this section on “Ordering and Shopping Preferences”.
- Turn on the Amazon 2-Step Verification process. Enabling the 2-Step Authentification feature of your Amazon account makes it harder to hack into. This feature lets Amazon send you a text message containing a security code to be able to access your account.
- You might want to un-link credit cards. It’s better to un-link all payment methods on your Amazon account. When you do so, you will be required to enter your card info whenever you make a purchase. This will make it harder for someone to hack into your account and make a lot of purchases.
- Inspect all of your credit card accounts. Look into the information on all the credit cards that are linked to your Amazon account. See to it that there are no unauthorized purchases indicated on them.