Amazon Suffers Possible Data Breach Right Before Black Friday

Just two days before the biggest shopping day of the year, Amazon seems to have suffered a data breach. 

According to The Register, ahead of the black friday deals season, some Amazon customers have received emails from Amazon notifying them that their names and email addresses have been "inadvertently disclosed" due to a "technical error." There's no information about who had access to the compromised information, or how it was exposed.

The email itself is a bit dodgy -- it includes an Amazon link at the bottom without the "https" prefix. However, users on the Amazon Seller forums have verified that it is, in fact, an email from Amazon. 

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted," Amazon said in a statement to The Register.

The company has been even less forthcoming to affected customers. Several forum users have asked the company for specifics; none have received a response. 

However, the fact that it's just names and email addresses, rather than passwords or other personal account information, means the worst you'll get is probably more spam or phishing in your inbox.

So there's likely no need to change your password if you receive one of these emails. However, it's a good idea to set up two-factor authentication on your Amazon account.

This story was originally posted on Tom's Guide.

Monica Chin is a staff writer for Tom's Guide, covering artificial intelligence and the internet of things. You can usually find her at poetry slams, attempting to exercise, or yelling at people on Twitter. Contact her at mchin@tomsguide.com.