There could be several indicators that someone is using your Amazon account, but in most cases it may be difficult to know exactly who it is. Knowing what things to look for can help you to understand if someone else is using your Amazon account. It is important to not just understand the signs of an intruder, but also to know which steps to take to get rid of the intruder and secure your Amazon account.
Check if your personal information has changed
This step may seem pretty obvious but checking the addresses and payment information in case it doesn’t belong to you is a good first step to know someone is accessing your account. Wrong data will indicate that your account has been hijacked.
Check if the Recent Orders and Recently Searched For items were done by you.
There are many traces left behind from somebody using your account like searching or ordering merchandise. It will all be stored in your account's history.
Suspicious notifications from Amazon
If you’re getting notifications about items being shipped that you haven't ordered, then someone is definitely using your account
Amazon Prime Video and other services. Media
content, like movies and books can also begin to appear in the list of
purchases or recently watched. If you didn't initiate any of those things then
it’s time to take action.
Following these instructions will ensure that nobody will be able to get in your account, even if you’ve given permission to a friend or family member to do so, or someone has accessed it without you knowing about it.
Remove All of the Unauthorized Devices
A necessary way to ensure neither of those who’ve previously used your account can continue repeatedly accessing your account is to rid it of their devices. You can perform this action from both the Amazon or Prime Video websites.
- At the Amazon website, log in with your account's credentials, move your cursor to “Account and Lists” to get a drop-down menu and select "Your Content and Devices".
- Go over to the “Devices” tab where you will be able to see a list of all currently registered devices on your account.
- Select which devices you’re removing from your account.
- To do so, just select Deregister next to the device.
Alternatively you can do it from the Prime Video website.
- Log in to your account and click on the cog symbol in the top right corner of the page.
- At the settings page choose the "Your Devices" tab at the top.
- In order to remove a device from your account, simply select Deregister next to that device.
For future knowledge, signing out of Prime Video, will disconnect the device you are currently using from your account. The service will no longer be accessible from this device until you’ve logged back in.
How To sign out of Prime Video
Open the Account menu from the upper-right corner of the main page and select "Sign Out" from the drop-down list.
You can also take these Additional Security Measures in case the person accessing your account is not someone who you know. If they’re trying to make purchases using your payment information, it’s very important that you do a walk through of your account and wipe all of the recent purchases that you did not make.
You can head over to the “Account & Lists” drop-down menu and access "Your Orders" page from there. All of your recent orders made in the last 6 months will be on display here by default.
If you found something that you didn’t order, you should immediately get in contact with your credit card company that is attached to the card and with Amazon's Customer Service in order to dispute all of the charges.
How to Remove Your Household Members From the Account
If you have set up an Amazon Household account and shared your Prime benefits with someone who is no longer a member of your household, you can easily end it. To stop sharing your Prime benefits:
- Log into Your Account and check the Manage Your Household page.
- Below the avatars on the left panel, you have an option to leave the household or to remove the other person.
- Click the Remove remove button below the name of the other member in order to kick them from your account.
If you decide to leave the household yourself, you will not be able to join a new household for another half a year. This also applies to the household member who is kicked. But you will still have an option to rejoin or re invite someone to the same household at any time.
Afterword
Streaming services have already changed the way we consume our favorite content. We are no longer tethered to a TV set and a cable box, instead we can do it from any place we want using a variety of devices, such as smartphones, tablets or laptops.
The freedom to watch programming anywhere you want is what provided us with the urge to ‘share’ our subscriptions with family and friends. Everybody loves to share and even the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, has prompted the password sharing.
Most people are sticking to the rules when it comes to the usage of their streaming service accounts, but some crooks don’t care about it and are ready to steal your access to the service. Usually they crack your account in order to watch content for free, but there are also numerous reports of unauthorized users bringing this practice to another level and locking subscribers out of their own accounts.
Taking care of your account privacy and security settings is one of the best possible tactics you can use against this type of illegal activity. If you will follow the simple recommendations we prepared for you in this article then you will be able to tell who’s logged into your streaming accounts, and get rid of any unwanted persons or intruders.
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