Hackers targeting Amazon third party sellers in account scam

Ecommerce giant Amazon has been hit by a wave of hackers in recent weeks, with third party sellers being targeted in a scam which saw thousands of pounds stolen from their accounts.

Attackers are increasingly targeting the Seattle company’s database of sellers to steal credit card credentials and post fake advertisements on the site.

There are currently over two million third-party sellers on Amazon, making up a large percentage of the transactions carried out through the site.

There are currently over two million third party sellers on Amazon

A spokesperson for Amazon said that it is working on its security measures and that those sellers impacted by the hackers would be refunded.

"There have always been bad actors in the world who try to take advantage of consumers for financial gain; however, as fraudsters get smarter so do we," Amazon said.

The spokesperson added that "is constantly innovating on behalf of customers and sellers to ensure their information is secure and that they can buy and sell with confidence."

Cybersecurity has become a major concern for several large tech companies. Last year, Yahoo was hit with two major hacks, one of which included details of over one billion account holders being stolen.

"Hacking Amazon is becoming...increasingly a big deal," Juozas Kaziuknas, chief executive of ecommerce tracker Marketplace Pulse told Fox Business.

"The value to be gained is bigger as Amazon grows."