
Ask HN: Can Amazon terminate an AWS account because you returned a shirt? - dangrossman
If an Amazon.com account is closed by Amazon the retailer, what happens to the AWS account under the same login?<p>Here&#x27;s why I ask:<p>Amazon retail closes Amazon accounts for various reasons, like seller policy violations or excessive returns. Googling &quot;amazon closed my account&quot; brings up thousands of examples. When they do this, they also close all &quot;linked accounts&quot;, which will generally include accounts at the same household.<p>Is there a risk that my primarily-AWS-hosted business could be wiped off the earth one morning because someone retail-side decided my significant other returned too many pairs of pants this year? She is prone to ordering clothes and returning those that don&#x27;t fit. Is it a reasonable concern, or would the AWS account be unaffected by such an action?
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0db69ba0148f43f
A couple experiments in the past have got me banned from Amazon Product
Advertising API for breaking the TOS, and I can confirm that other aspects of
the account (store access, AWS account) were never shutoff.

That said I would not recommend using the admin account for your AWS account
for purchases. Historically the support for Amazon store has been easy to
social engineer (see links for reference) and I imagine with enough info about
the Amazon account and/or product purchase history a clever con artist could
get your Amazon store account details changed and password reset, to give them
access to your AWS account.

Best to keep the email for your AWS admin account just as secret as the
password, and only log into it when you need to change billing info. Use a
separate IAM account for day to day access.

[http://gizmodo.com/5969981/two-for-one-amazons-socially-
engi...](http://gizmodo.com/5969981/two-for-one-amazons-socially-engineered-
replacement-order-scam) [http://www.wired.com/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-
hacking/](http://www.wired.com/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/)

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huslage
They share a single sign-on, but their accounting systems are totally
separate. You don't have to worry about it. Also if you really _are_ worried
about it, just open an account under a different email address and you'll be
safe.

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a3n
It's a reasonable concern, and you should contact amazon about having a
separate business and personal account. I've never used AWS, I'm surprised if
it's tied to your retail purchasing account with the same login.

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dangrossman
I don't share accounts with my s/o. That doesn't matter since "linked
accounts" get closed, and we're in the same household, with the same address,
logging in from the same IP.

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GFK_of_xmaspast
I have not previously heard of retail accounts being closed for too many
returns.

~~~
dangrossman
[http://www.google.com/search#q="amazon+closed+my+account"+re...](http://www.google.com/search#q="amazon+closed+my+account"+returns)

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vellum
Try registering an account in the name of your business.

