Amazon says some customer email addresses exposed

The company declined to disclose the extent of the software slip-up


Afp November 22, 2018
The logo of Amazon is pictured inside the company's office in Bengaluru, India, April 20, 2018. Picture taken April 20, 2018. PHOTO: REUTERS

SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon on Wednesday said that a website glitch accidentally exposed names and email addresses of some of the e-commerce giant's customers.

Amazon declined to disclose the extent of the software slip-up.

"We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted," an Amazon spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry.

Amazon launches in Turkey

There was no breach of Amazon systems or its website, and passwords were kept safe, according to the company.

As a precaution, messages were sent to customers affected by the website mishap letting them know their names and email addresses may have been disclosed by the Amazon website.

Amazon customers in the US and Europe have reported receiving messages from the company, according to tech news website TechCrunch.

Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women

The disclosure came on the cusp of the year-end holiday shopping season, with retailers online and in real-world shops offering "Black Friday" bargains pegged to the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

Amazon is the "undisputed e-commerce leader" in the US, with a 48 per cent share of online sales here this year expected to equate to some $252 billion, according to analysts at eMarketer.

The market tracker forecast that total e-commerce sales in the US would jump 16.6 per cent to $123.73 billion this holiday season as compared with the same period last year.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ