Is that “Amazon took payment” email a scam?

Almost always. The fake order — and the panic it causes — is the point: the link and the phone number in the email both lead to the scammer. Verify only in the Amazon app or in Your Orders on a site you navigate to yourself, and check the sender: real Amazon mail comes from @amazon.com, not a lookalike or free domain.

Educational verdict from documented scam patterns — not a live report. For a 0–100 risk score on the exact link in your hand, run the checker.