Amazon.com reportedly sent an e-mail to some customers informing them regarding its action that their account passwords have been reset due to a potential data breach.
Consumers also received a message in their Amazon accounts confirming that the e-mail regarding the password reset came from the company. Amazon clarified that the notice was not a sign of spoofing.
Amazon said the issue had been resolved
The e-commerce giant informed customers regarding its recent discovery that their “Amazon password may have been improperly stored” in their devices or transmitted to the e-commerce giant in a way that could potentially expose it to a third party.”
The company told customers that the issue had been resolved. According to the e-commerce giant, “We have corrected the issue to prevent this exposure.” The e-commerce giant provided customers with temporary passwords to log in to their accounts and create a new password.
The company emphasized that its action to reset customers’ passwords was out of an “abundance of caution” and it had no reason to believe that their passwords were revealed to a third-party.
Amazon offers two-step verification on consumer accounts
Amazon recently joined the increasing number of retailers and technology companies that are improving their security measures to prevent any breach of personal information.
The e-commerce giant started offering two-step verification for consumer accounts early this month. Amazon added the layer of protection to ensure that the person accessing an account is the true owner.
The company said customers will need their mobile phone and password to sign in to their accounts after activating the two-step verification. The e-commerce giant said customers will need to provide a security code that will come from their phone (either through SMS or an authentication app). No one would be able to access their accounts if their passwords were compromised.
Holiday Deals stores
Meanwhile, Amazon.ca officially kicked off its holiday shopping season yesterday. The e-commerce giant launched its Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals stores, which allows customers to find more deals on popular gift categories such as toys, electronics, clothing and others.
In a statement, Alexandre Gagnon, country manager for Amazon.ca said, “This holiday season, our customers will find thousands of deals, a variety of fast, convenient delivery options, and even more selection with the recently introduced clothing and shoes categories. We’re making it easier than ever for customers to save time and money on their holiday shopping.”
