Amazon.com is concerned about the safety and security of our customers. Accordingly, we have put a number of technological protections in place to ensure that our transaction process is extremely safe and that our customers' information is secure.

Additionally, Amazon.com takes a number of steps to help ensure that our third-party seller platforms are safe and that our sellers are of the highest quality. However, keep in mind that customer protection is a two-way street. When buying or selling on any online venue, caution must always be practiced.

The overwhelming majority of online transactions are completed without incident. While the possibility of being defrauded by a third-party seller is minimal, there are some risks. Amazon.com has developed the following guidelines to help ensure that your online shopping experience is safe and secure.

Buyer and Seller Tip: Protect your passwords.

• If using a public computer or terminal, always log out when you complete an online session.
• Keep your passwords private. Remember, anybody who knows your password may access your account.
• When creating a password, use at least 8 characters--a combination of letters and numbers is best. Do not use dictionary words, your name, e-mail address, or other personal information that can be easily obtained. It is also recommended that you frequently change your password. If you need assistance with this, visit our Changing Your Password Help page.
• Avoid using the same password for multiple online accounts.

Buyer and Seller Tip: Be wary of unsolicited e-mail and telephone contacts.

• Amazon.com will never e-mail or call a customer and ask that they disclose or verify their Amazon.com password, credit card, or banking account number. Such information should only be submitted when completing an order on Amazon.com, registering for Amazon Payments, contacting Amazon.com directly, or when making updates to Your Account or Seller Account areas. If you receive a suspicious e-mail with a link to update your account information, do not click on the link--instead go directly to www.amazon.com and then to your account. You can find out more about How to Identify Phishing or Spoofed E-mails from our Help page.
• If you are contacted by, or receive an unsolicited e-mail from an unknown entity, and are asked to confirm or provide your password or personal or banking information, simply disregard the request and report the incident to Amazon.com for investigation.
• Buyers and sellers on the third-party sales platform (Auctions and Marketplace) should always carefully review order and shipment confirmation e-mails to ensure that they are legitimate and have been sent by Amazon.com. To do this, simply cross-reference confirmation e-mails with the transaction history found within the Seller Account area.
• If you receive a suspected spoofed Amazon.com e-mail, or discover a fake Amazon.com Web site, please report the incident to Amazon.com. You can also learn more about Amazon.com's legal efforts to help stop spoofing.

Buyer Tip: Research your seller.

• Buyers should always research a seller's feedback history prior to initiating a transaction. Feedback is the leading indicator of a seller's overall quality. Look for clues within a seller's feedback that indicate the following: The ability to fulfill and ship orders in a timely fashion, a seller's willingness to resolve transaction disputes, and an indication that the quality of the products shipped matches the description supplied by the seller. Learn more about seller feedback.

Buyer Tip: Only use Amazon Payments for Marketplace transactions.

• Amazon Payments (paying for items through Amazon.com's Shopping Cart or 1-Click) is safe, secure, guaranteed, and provides buyers with a convenient method of payment. Amazon Payments is the only authorized and recognized form of payment for Marketplace purchases. Marketplace sellers may only use Amazon.com Payments to complete transactions.
• Regardless of circumstances, buyers should never pay for a Marketplace item using an alternative form of payment such as wire transfer, credit card, money orders, check, cash, etc.
• Marketplace transactions paid for using alternative forms of payment are not eligible for protection under the Amazon.com A-to-z Guarantee; therefore, it is extremely important that buyers only use Amazon.com Payments to complete Marketplace transactions.

Buyer Tip: Always use Amazon Payments for Auctions transactions.

• For protection under the Amazon.com A-to-z Guarantee, buyers should only use Amazon.com Payments to complete an Auctions transaction. Because Amazon Payments is the only accepted payment method for Auctions orders, buyers should not use payment methods such as wire transfer, check, cash, money order, or other payment methods for Auctions transactions.

Seller Tip: Ship only to supported addresses.

• Auctions and Marketplace orders must only be shipped to addresses supplied by Amazon.com (contained within the ship confirmation e-mails). Sellers should be especially concerned if contacted by a buyer and asked to ship a completed order to an alternative address. In this case, sellers should refund the buyer and then report the occurrence to Amazon.com. Buyers are responsible for providing a current shipping address upon registration.