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Amazon puts the user security above all, so if it detects any suspicious activity on an account, it will lock that account immediately. Whether you are a customer or a seller, having your Amazon account locked may be a real pain.
If you are looking for a way to unlock your Amazon account, we can help you. This article will explain why your Amazon account has been locked and how to troubleshoot it.
Reasons Why Your Amazon Account Got Locked
When you are trying to sign in to your Amazon account and you encounter the Your account has been locked for security purposes error. That means Amazon may have locked your account due to several reasons, including:
1. Providing incomplete or fake information to Amazon
Entering incorrect or incomplete account information is one of the most common reasons why Amazon gets user accounts locked.
You must supply all relevant documents while registering as an Amazon vendor. Amazon checks your profile and verifies the legitimacy of the information you give after you finish submitting.
Providing incomplete or fake information is the most common reason for your Amazon account locked issue
If Amazon discovers a mismatch in your account information, it will halt your operation. You won’t be able to sell anything on Amazon during this time and may receive the following message notifying you of its decision.
The platform has various ways to verify if you submitted a fraudulent name, delivery address, billing address, or other relevant information.
| For example, you provide fake billing details or use someone else’s credit card when creating a new account.
Amazon will check if the billing address registered with your card provider matches the default address on your Amazon account. If you fail this credit card verification, you may have your Amazon account locked very soon. |
2. Unusual high number of items are being ordered
An uncommonly large amount of daily orders – particularly on new accounts – can trigger Amazon to lock your account. Amazon uses an anti-fraud system to detect that unusual activity.
You can avoid triggering this protection action of Amazon by limiting your order volume to 30 orders a day for the first few weeks after activating your account. Or, you can maintain your daily orders under $250/day by using different Amazon accounts.
3. High volume of returns
According to the “Consumer Returns In the Retail Industry” report from Appriss, US retailers, in 2018, lost a stunning $369 billion in sales due to returns.
Therefore, many US businesses, including Amazon, have invested in systems to detect unproductive users and monitor the average returns of products.
Returns are normally free of charge for buyers, but Amazon has to pay for the shipping cost. To be clear, Amazon will handle shipping and restocking whenever you return an item. That costs it a lot of money – especially for a business selling things at a very low-profit margin.
High volume of returns is one of the reasons why your Amazon account got locked
Thus, whether you are a buyer or a seller, pay attention to your return rates. Otherwise, you may get your Amazon account locked, if your high volume of returns is high.
4. Suspicious gift card activity
Gift cards are one of the most effective ways for businesses to attract customers. Amazon, on the other hand, keeps a strict eye on them and tries to police them firmly because they can be a target for money launderers.
There are two situations where Amazon locks an account when dealing with gift cards:
- Buying and redeeming large amounts of gift cards unusually
- Using a new-registered PRIME account to buy a gift card
5. Using multiple IP and MAC addresses in various locations
When you log into your Amazon account in different places and operate the Amazon account with multiple IP and MAC addresses, the possibilities of having your Amazon account locked are high.
Once you register an account on a certain computer, Amazon records that computer’s IP and MAC address. Therefore, logging into your Amazon account on a different computer can make Amazon assume you are using multiple accounts and lead to your account suspension.
For example:
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6. Providing poor service
As an Amazon seller, you have to maintain a healthy performance of your account to avoid suspension. There are three criteria that all Amazon sellers have to pay attention to, including:
- The order defect rate should not be more than 1%.
- The total order cancellation in your account should be under 2.5%.
- The late shipment orders in your account should not exceed 4%.
7. Selling fake products
Amazon attaches much importance to product authenticity, so if you sell fake or counterfeit items, you will have your Amazon account locked.
When your account has any quality, trademark, copyright, or patent problems, the platform will inform you and automatically remove your product listings.
Amazon will suspend any account selling fake products.
8. Low product quality issues
Amazon may decide to lock your account after customers report the low quality of the products bought from your store to the platform. Here are examples of account suspension due to product quality issues:
- Selling used, defective, or prohibited products.
- The product that customers receive is different from that displayed on the product page.
- Products have expired or fail to meet some health regulations.
- Customers did not receive all the items described on the product page.
Ways to fix your Amazon account locked issue
After finding out why your account got locked, you can now take the following methods to get rid of this annoying situation.
1. Contact Amazon through Email
The first thing you should do when your account is locked is to check if you received any emails from Amazon. If you have received an email, you can reply directly via email. Now, there are three ways to reach Amazon support via email.
Email is the most useful channel to fix your Amazon account locked issue.
Reply to the Account Specialist email
Amazon will send an email to your address to advise that your account has been locked and you are unable to access it for the reasons stated.
After reading the email, reply immediately to the Account Specialist’s email and attach the documents and information that are requested for the account verification.
If you don’t have this email, then proceed with the options below.
Send an Email via Amazon help
- Step #1: Head to the Amazon page.
- Step #2: On the Sign-In page, click Need help? to show a drop-down list.
Report your Amazon account locked issue through Amazon help with an email.
- Step #3: Click Other issues with sign in.
- Step #4: Select I cannot sign into my account under Account & Login Issues.
- Step #5: Compose an email about the issue you faced and ask for it to be reinstated.
Send an Email to the CEO Office
Amazon has made its CEO Office’s direct email address public and a special team handles all the emails sent to the address. You can send your email to the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos – Jeff@amazon.com.
As you’re not sending it directly via the Amazon portal, make sure to include information that helps to identify your account easily, such as your name and the email address of your locked account.
2. Contact Amazon via Phone call
You can have a conversation with Amazon via your phone to ask for unlocking your account.
Contacting through phone calls is one of the fastest ways to reach Amazon support. Here’s how to do it:
- Step #1: If you reside in the US, call +1 (206)-266-2992
- Step #2: When you get to the answering machine, select Option 2 if you are a Prime Member.
- Step #3: Ask for a supervisor and provide the verification details for identification.
- Step #4: Explain your situation and how your account was suspended after you purchased products.
- Step #5: Request for an account specialist to review your details and reinstate your account.
| Note: If you live outside America, the number you should call is 1-888-230-4331, and then, follow the next step as above. |
In most circumstances, you must provide certain documents or information such as:
- Amazon account number
- Bank statement associated with the credit or debit card you use for payment, sometimes with a Billing Address on it.
- Gift card receipts if your account was locked due to a gift card issue.
- Evidence of your default shipping address
3. Contact Amazon via Online chat
If you want an alternative way to contact Amazon, you can try asking for support through an online chat.
- Step #1: Log in to an active Amazon account. If you don’t have one, create one using a new email address.
- Step #2: Select the Contact Us button.
- Step #3: Click the Start chatting now button.
- Step #4: Compose a message explaining your problem and asking for an account specialist.
- Step #5: Provide verification details asked by the accounting specialist (You can type in directly the information or send the documents as an attachment or through email).
- Step #6: Your account will be reactivated within a few hours or a few days after your case has been assessed and validated.
You can ask Amazon to reverse its decision on suspending your account through an online chat.
4. Upload documents directly to Amazon
It’s possible that you didn’t provide all of the required documents to authenticate your account, which leads to having your Amazon account locked.
To unlock your account, you need to upload the relevant documents that show your identity, shipping address, billing address, and other details are correct.
- Step #1: Go to your email inbox.
- Step #2: Find the confirmation email of your last order dispatch
- Step #3: Click on the link to access your account. You will be able to view most of the information, except your order details.
- Step #4: Go to the product page and try to buy anything. It will then show the error message saying, ‘Your amazon account is locked, and orders are on hold’.
- Step #5: Choose the Add document button.
- Step #6: Upload all the required documents.
| Note: If you follow this method, make sure that you sign in and submit documents from the account via the order dispatch email. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do this. |
Ways to avoid having your Amazon account locked
We believe that “Prevention is better than cure”. Knowing how to unlock your account is great but it is even better when you can protect your account from the risks of getting suspended.
1. Do not use the Prime service
Amazon pays for the delivery cost, so it regulates its Prime service more strictly than other services. Therefore, you should avoid using their Prime service if you are a drop shipper.
Avoid using the Prime service to prevent the Amazon account locked issue.
2. Only buy low-cost products
Don’t buy pricey products right after opening your account. Start with low-cost purchases to lower your losses when Amazon suspends your account and cancels your transactions.
3. Do not exceed $200/ day gift card transactions
Amazon does not want too many gift card transactions, particularly from new accounts. Hence, you can avoid triggering the anti-fraud detection system by not exceeding a limited amount of redeeming gift cards.
4. Use a VPN to create backup accounts
Virtual Private Network (VPN) protects your login credentials when you access your account outside your home country and minimizes the risk of having your Amazon account locked.
Besides, creating multiple accounts with a VPN can reduce the chance of your business being disrupted if one of them is frozen.
Conclusion
There will be times when you get your Amazon account locked but it is no longer a terrible problem because you know how to fix it now.
If it is happening to you, closely follow the steps above. Furthermore, we recommend that you take our prevention methods seriously to avoid the problem in the future.
