Delivery man scammed out of $3500 trying to earn extra income for family

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Amazon Flex is a program that gives individuals a chance to deliver packages for Amazon using their personal vehicle.

Bemenet Mesfen recently signed up as a way to earn additional income for his family of three, but a scammer wound up draining $3,500 from Mesfen’s bank account.

“I mean, it’s a bad feeling,” said Mesfen. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

On April 1, Mesfen attempted to make his first delivery for Amazon Flex.

He went to pick up packages from an Amazon Hub Locker in southwest Houston, but he ran into an issue that he needed assistance with.

Mesfen couldn’t find a number for Amazon in his app, so he went to a search engine and found what he thought was Amazon’s customer service number.

It was the number of a scammer.

“He even said ‘Kevin from Amazon,'” Mesfen explained.

“Kevin” instructed Mesfen to download two apps – AnyDesk, a remote desktop application, and Stryke, a payment app.

Mesfen soon received an alert for a low balance in his bank account.

“That’s what he did,” said Mesfen. “I let him in my phone, and the next thing you know, he took all my money in my account.”

We reached out to Amazon to respond to the situation, and they said they’d look into what happened.

Mesfen said Amazon and his bank said there was nothing they could do about it.

He filed a police report with the Houston Police Department.

“That was my first time – and the last time using Flex,” Mesfen said.

He says he’ll stick to his day job, but he wants to warn others who might find themselves in similar situations.

“When you call someone, make sure it’s Amazon people,” he said. “Don’t give your account number.”