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Amazon is the the most efficient, popular online retailer. So maybe it shouldnt be surprising that its a gold mine for scammers. These individuals, bless their blackened hearts, are adept at crafting new and increasingly plausible ways to trick the unsuspectingand posing as Amazon is an easy way to attract attention. So, with a healthy dose of skepticism, let’s examine a few of their more popular ruses. And, more importantly, how to avoid becoming the next victim. Your Account Is On Hold! This particular chestnut arrives via email, often with a subject line designed to induce mild panic. It’s adorned with a passable Amazon logo and a link, invariably urging you to verify your details or update your billing information. How to avoid it: Amazon, for all its technological prowess, rarely communicates critical account issues via unsolicited links in an email. Outsmarting this one can be done the same way you outsmart just about every other phishing email out there. Make sure to examine the sender’s address. Does it genuinely end in “@amazon.com”? Or is it a peculiar string of characters, perhaps including amazon.com somewhere? The latter is a strong indicator its a scam. In the message itself, are there peculiar grammatical constructions or spellings that suggest English might not be the author’s primary language? These subtle imperfections are often telltale signs, though theyre getting harder to spot thanks to AI. And finally, resist the urge to click. If theres genuinely an issue with your Amazon account, manually navigating to Amazon.com in your browser and logging in will reveal all. Any legitimate alerts will be visible there. The “Unexpected Refund” Text Message This rather sneaky tactic involves a text message, ostensibly from Amazon, informing you that a recent purchase of yours has failed some sort of routine inspection. Perhaps it’s being recalled, or simply isn’t up to Amazon’s exacting standards. The good news, the message purports, is that a full refund is due, often without the hassle of returning the offending item. All you need do is click the convenient link provided to claim your compensation. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, among others, has recently issued warnings about this particular brand of mischief. How to avoid it: Excitement for an unexpected windfall should be tempered with a healthy dose of doubt. For starters, while Amazon does send legitimate texts, an unsolicited refund notification, particularly for an unspecified item and without requiring a return, is highly suspect. Clicking the link in the text message will, in all likelihood, lead you to a meticulously crafted phishing page that looks just like the official Amazon login pagejust waiting to collect your Amazon credentials, payment information, and any other personal details you’re willing to volunteer. Should you harbor even a fleeting thought that the message might be legitimate, bypass the text entirely by logging into your Amazon account via the official website or the app. Any legitimate refund or recall information will be clearly displayed within your order history or official notifications. The “Accidental Over-Refund” This is a somewhat more sophisticated deception. You might receive a call or an email asserting that Amazon has, through some inexplicable error, refunded you too much for a recent return. The request is for you to remit the “overpayment,” often via the purchase of gift cards or a wire transfer. How to avoid it: Before doing anything, consult your actual bank statements or Amazon account to confirm the alleged overpayment. It’s almost certain you’ll find no such anomaly. When it comes to Amazon’s refund protocol, the companys internal processes are reasonably sophisticated. Should a genuine error occur, the company would rectify it internally, not solicit funds from you via questionable methods certainly not gift cards! And if anyone purports to be from Amazon and requests remote access to your computer to “correct” a refund issue, it’s time to end the conversation. Amazon will never, ever, ever ask for access to your computer. Your Order Has Shipped!” Wait, what order? This particular trick plays on a combination of alarm and curiosity. A plausible-looking order confirmation arrives in your inbox for an itemoften expensive that you most certainly didnt purchase. The objective is to prompt you to click the “Cancel Order” or “View Details” link in a state of agitation. How to avoid it: Bypass the email entirely. Log into your Amazon account and go to your “Orders” section. If the supposed order isn’t there, it’s a fabrication. Though generally ill-advised, should you feel compelled to examine a link, hover your mouse cursor over it and observe the URL that appears. If it deviates significantly from www.amazon.com, then it’s best left unclicked. The “Mystery Package” Brushing Scam This particular oddity is less about financial theft and more about system manipulation. You receive a package from Amazon, addressed to you, containing an item you never orderedoften something inexpensive and utterly random. The purpose? A third-party seller is using your details to create fake purchases, allowing them to post fraudulent positive reviews under your name, thereby artificially boosting their product’s standing. How to avoid it: While seemingly harmless, receiving freealbeit often useless goods does indicate your personal information is being exploited. Do a good deed by contacting Amazon customer service and reporting the unsolicited package. The company takes a dim view of such practices. And given that your address is being used, a periodic review of your credit report for any other unusual activity is probably in order.
Category:
E-Commerce
Its the story as old as (industrial) time. In the design/innovation world, not every great result will carry its makers name. There are some notable exceptions. Corning is the widely known supplier of ultradurable glass (Gorilla Glass) used in iPhones, for example. And GORE-TEX is known for premium outdoor gears breathable waterproof membrane, a material of choice. But behind most every iconic solution there are scores of silent partners like our own, Chang Robotics, whose involvement may never be known. Herein lies the problem: How can you gain recognition, build authority, and attract new business while honoring strict NDAs or white-label relationships? I know this challenge keenly. We provide scores of organizations with game-changing automation. But how will the next set of Fortune 500 CEOs considering new automation or reshoring know they should talk to us? We are far from alone. In 2022, there were some 239,000 U.S. manufacturing organizations engineering firms, product designers, and R&D labs. All but 4,177 have fewer than 500 employees. We comprise the legions whose design and production touches most products we experience, but whose names are seldom part of the story.Here are five ways to share the news about our achievements to allow us to scale: 1. Tell the story without naming names One of the most effective strategies is to frame your achievements by category, not by client. Rather than revealing client names we describe the following: The type of client: e.g., a Fortune 100 healthcare device manufacturer or a leading North American foods and packaging provider. The challenge solved: e.g., We accelerated time-to-market by 42% for a new diagnostic platform. The impact achieved: e.g., We are eliminating the use of PFAs (forever chemicals) in food packaging. We can maintain confidentiality while still showcasing credible and impactful stories. In some cases, we can show the world a physical product in final development before any branding is attached. Sometimes after time passes and development cycles are complete, customers may be willing to officially or unofficially acknowledge a partners role. Or they may allow the client to use them as a confidential reference, or name them as client if you dont disclose confidential details of your work. Any of these moves, especially in aggregate, can speed your ability to gain the authority you deserve. 2. Own your domain expertise through thought leadership Even when you cant name who youre working with, you can be very clear about what you do and why it matters. Take every possible opportunity to publish thought leadership reports that explore: Emerging trends in your field Lessons learned from anonymous project work Predictions about where your segment is headed Provide this information in as specific and meaningful detail as possible. We do this frequently through white papers and research reports about the industries and development categories we touch. This strategy positions your brand as a go-to expert without violating confidential ground. Some of your clients or prospective clients may even be willing to participate in the white paper projects as sources. 3. Create your own use cases When you can’t speak about the solutions you’ve built for others, consider building your own. Create demo products, concept videos, or “hypothetical” use cases that mirror real-world applications aligned with industries you’re targeting. Ortaken to full fruitionunderwrite and support portfolio firms of your own. Weve stepped into this arena, creating the Chang Robotics Fund, which has already invested in eight companies. It is allowing us to scale in several significant ways: 1) We can be fully visible for our roles in each portfolio company. 2) We can display the results of our technical prowess. 3) Perhaps most valuable for us, some results are based on IP from our core employees. This provides them the opportunity to participate as equity owners in their projects while also enjoying the security of their employee positions. To a large degree, this is a model where everyone wins. 4. Gain visibility through the right channels In your effort to gain authority in your sector, focus on information channels that reward expertise over promotional content such as: Contribute to leading business and trade publications or speak at industry events. My participation in the Fast Company Innovation Council is an example of this. Use platforms like LinkedIn, X, and even TikTok to share expertise and insights (not sales pitches) aligned with the vertical markets you serve. I cannot emphasize the value of these efforts enough, as they comprise some of our most successful achievements in driving new business in 2025-2026. These environments elevate your voice among peers and prospects without needing to self-promote or name-drop. 5. Partner with clients for joint wins When your clients can publicly acknowledge your role, even as a footnote, be ready to draft joint case studies, share in award applications, and coauthor technical papers or conference presentations. This is more difficult when clients are publicly traded organizations. But many clients (and particularly major university clients and partners) are open to win-win mutual visibility. This is especially true in technical fields where peer credibility counts, and the academic research can be helpful for your own organization as well. Final words Invisibility is not inevitable. For ingredient brands, strategic storytelling, anonymized case studies, and consistent thought leadership can earn you deserved attention and credibilityeven if your logo never appears on the box. Matthew Chang is founder and principal engineer of Chang Robotics.
Category:
E-Commerce
The fastest-growing group of real estate investors? Theyre not hedge funds or institutional investors. Theyre nurses, teachers, NASA engineers, and first-time landlords with a smartphone. In recent years, 85% percent of investor-owned residential properties were purchased by small scale mom and pop landlords, rather than institutional players. Thanks to property technology, investors no longer need deep pockets, a finance degree, or a ton of spare time to start building a real estate business. Real estate has long been one of the most capital-intensive, time-consuming, and difficult asset classes to break into. But proptech is dismantling many of the long-standing barriers that once kept many people out, redefining who gets to invest, who gets to earn, and who gets to build wealth from real estate. Just as fintech became essential infrastructure for financial inclusion, proptech is democratizing real estate investing through smart, values-aligned innovation. Time is no longer the gatekeeper In the past, investing in real estate meant navigating a maze of manual taskscollecting paper checks, coordinating maintenance by phone (often in the middle of the night), and tracking expenses with pen, paper, and shoeboxes. The time commitment required wasnt feasible for most people. Today, modern software platforms automate and centralize nearly every step of the process. Automated five-pronged tenant screening tools deliver instant background and credit checks. Lease agreements can be generated digitally and signed online. Rent is collected automatically via mobile apps. And maintenance requests flow through clean, trackable dashboards that dispatch vetted local pros without bothering the owner at odd hours. That kind of automation has opened the doors to investors who once felt priced outnot financially, but in terms of time and attention. Ive seen it firsthand. One landlord and long-time RentRedi user, a NASA engineer named Dawid, manages his real estate business in the evenings and on weekends while continuing to work in aerospace. Proptech makes it possible to treat real estate like a side hustle, rather than a full-time obligation. Financial barriers are no longer the dealbreaker Theres no denying it: The financial hurdles to buying property have grown steeper. Home prices are high. Interest rates have increased. For many aspiring investors, the traditional path to ownership feels out of reach. But while the barrier itself has risen, proptech is helping people find strategic ways to overcome it. Digital tools are making creative income strategieslike renting out space or co-owning propertiesmore accessible and easier to manage than ever before. By generating income from day one, many of these strategies reduce the amount of personal capital needed to cover costs. That means investors can start smaller, take on less risk, and enter the market more affordably. The result? A new wave of homeowners and investors who are building wealth one step at a time. Creative property monetization: Turn space into income Even without renting to long-term tenants, homeowners can generate meaningful income from underutilized parts of their property. Proptech platforms make it easy to list, manage, and monetize these spaces, turning idle square footage into opportunity. One of the most rapidly growing real estate trends is accessory dwelling units (ADUs). These are separate, self-contained structures on a residential lot (often detached in backyards or converted from existing garages) that can be rented out for short- or long-term stays. Creative models can lower the financial strain of ownership and allow people to begin investing in real estate incrementally, without the need for multiple properties or large upfront capital. Scale without the traditional infrastructure For investors who start smallwhether through co-ownership, or a single rental unitscaling is traditionally the next big hurdle. Growing a real estate portfolio used to require hiring property managers, assembling in-house teams, or outsourcing to expensive service providers. The overhead alone made it difficult to expand without deep pockets or significant infrastructure. Thats no longer the case. Today, an individual with the right property management software can manage 1, 10, 50, even 100 units independently. Operations that once required a staff can now be handled from a mobile dashboard in minutes. Investors can grow their portfolios incrementally without sacrificing their full-time careers or quality of life. Another customer, Katherine, is a pediatric ICU nurse who wanted to create passive income for retirement. She started with three units and has since expanded her portfolio to eight units in just three years, managing it alongside her demanding healthcare schedule. These arent isolated success storiestheyre part of a growing trend. Proptech means real estate investing can become something people can build around their lives. The tools once reserved for big players are now in the hands of everyday investors. This shift lowers structural barriers for underrepresented groups. Young, minority, and female investors who have historically faced the steepest entry points are now scaling businesses with little more than a smartphone and a solid strategy. A new era of inclusive real estate investing What fintech did for Wall Street, proptech is doing for Main Street real estate. Its unlocking ownership, income, and long-term financial opportunity for more people in more places, with fewer of the barriers that once made real estate the domain of the already-wealthy. As more people access real estate as a means to build wealth, proptech helps reshape who owns housing in Americaand how that ownership affects communities, families, and futures. This is more than convenience. It’s a structural change and the beginning of a more inclusive, more entrepreneurial economy. Ryan Barone is cofounder and CEO of RentRedi.
Category:
E-Commerce
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