Amazon has sent out emails to some of its customers informing them that its online sales site had “inadvertently disclosed [their] name and email address due to a technical error”.

The email from Amazon, which included an HTTP link to its site at the end, read: “Hello, We’re contacting you to let you know that our website inadvertently disclosed your name and email address due to a technical error.

“The issue has been fixed. This is not a result of anything you have done, and there is no need for you to change your password or take any other action. Sincerely, Customer Service”

Customers from across the world took to Twitter in an attempt to verify if the email was genuine or whether they had been spammed. Several users, who received the email, complained about the notice’s brevity and lack of details.

Came here looking to see if anyone was discussing the big Amazon data leak of customers info email addresses and names + potentially other info and I don’t see anything trending.

Is the leak being acknowledged publicly yet? — martin hall (@thetestmanager) November 21, 2018

#tech Some overly casual (and unapologetic) comms from @Amazon on an email leak/hack – Unsure if this a real email or spam, even. cc: @AmazonHelp, confirm if this email is actually from @Amazon? In what way way were emails disclosed, and to who? pic.twitter.com/fBFvLTJXHe — Srinivas KC (@srinivaskc) November 21, 2018

Amazon’s UK Press Office Admits Email is Real

The Amazon UK press office has acknowledged that the email is genuine, saying only: “We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted.”

Amazon has failed to disclose how many customers were affected, whether it had informed the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), what the cause of the breach was or how or when it had been detected.

Even if the error has been corrected, the leaked information leaves customers exposed to phishing attacks, and could enable hackers to attempt to reset their accounts.

The ICO has yet to comment on the breech.

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