Technologies

If You Were Surprised by an Amazon Refund From Years Ago, Here’s Why

Some Amazon customers are receiving large refunds, years after their purchases.

After all the money you’ve spent at Amazon, it’s only fair that the online shopping giant gives you some cash back, right? That’s what some customers are discovering after learning about surprise Amazon refunds they’ve received, sometimes for purchases made years ago.

One customer on LinkedIn said he received a refund of $1,800 for a smart TV bought in 2018. Others made similar comments about products bought long before. What’s going on, and why are Amazon customers getting these refunds so long after their purchases?

Why some Amazon customers are receiving surprise refunds

These surprise Amazon refunds seem to have arisen from an internal Amazon review, possibly in response to a 2023 lawsuit, according to Bloomberg. The lawsuit claimed Amazon had quietly reversed legitimate return-related refunds for some shoppers.

Now, it looks like Amazon’s making good on those refunds — and if you’ve ever had a return go sideways, you might see a little money show up, too.

How many Amazon customers are getting these surprise refunds?

A representative for Amazon told CNET that only a small number of customers would be affected.

«Following a recent internal review, we identified a very small subset of returns where we issued a refund without the payment completing, or where we could not verify that the correct item had been sent back to us so no refund was issued,» an Amazon representative said. «There is no action required from customers to receive the refunds, and we have fixed the payment issue.»

In its latest earnings call on May 21, Amazon reported a one-time expense of $1 billion connected to expenses like refunds, returns and tariffs that the company had not yet sent out. These earmarked funds could be responsible for the sudden updates that shoppers are now seeing regarding purchases as far back as 2018.

How can I tell if I’m eligible for one of these Amazon refunds?

If you receive an email about a surprise refund from Amazon orders, it may be related to these changes Amazon has made behind the scenes. You may still want to confirm it’s not fraud by logging into your Amazon account or making a quick service call, especially if it’s a larger amount like a payment for a TV.

Scammers may be taking advantage of this news, too, so be wary of any notification that asks you for financial information, which Amazon should already have.

Another way to see if Amazon has refunded you unexpected funds is to go to your Orders page with a web browser or via the Amazon app.

Check your Amazon Orders page via the Amazon app

Open the Amazon app and log in (if not already)
Tap the profile icon at the bottom of the screen
Tap the Orders button at the top of the next screen
Check your recent account activity to see if you’ve received unexpected credits

Check your Amazon Orders page with a web browser

Visit Amazon.com in your web browser of choice and log in (if not already)
Click on the Accounts & Lists link in the top right corner
Then click Your Orders on the next page
Check your recent account activity to see if you’ve received unexpected credits

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, June 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 21.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword was a tough one for me! I struggled with 7-Across and 3-Down especially. Need some help? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Feeling extremely happy
Answer: JOYFUL

7A clue: Wake from sleep
Answer: AROUSE

8A clue: Brand of cinnamon-flavored chewing gum
Answer: BIGRED

9A clue: Talk and talk and talk
Answer: GAB

10A clue: Bengal, colt or dolphin
Answer: ANIMAL

13A clue: TV show ending
Answer: FINALE

14A clue: Rook, to a chess newbie
Answer: CASTLE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Quick boxing punch
Answer: JAB

2D clue: Beginnings
Answer: ORIGINS

3D clue: Where you might strike a pose?
Answer: YOGAMAT

4D clue: Nickname for a fuzzy cat
Answer: FURBALL

5D clue: One of many for white vinegar
Answer: USE

6D clue: Was winning
Answer: LED

10D clue: The Bengals, Colts and Dolphins play in it: Abbr
Answer: AFC

11D clue: ___ DaCosta, director of 2023’s «The Marvels»
Answer: NIA

12D clue: Harper who wrote «To Kill a Mockingbird»
Answer: LEE

Technologies

China and Developing Nations Trust AI the Most, UN Survey Finds

In the US and Europe, confidence in artificial intelligence is far lower.

Artificial intelligence may be a global technology, but public attitudes toward it are anything but universal. A new United Nations poll shows that trust in AI is highest in China and other developing economies, while richer nations remain deeply skeptical.

The findings come from a massive UN Development Programme survey that interviewed more than 21,000 people across 21 countries between November 2024 and January 2025. Researchers asked participants if they believe AI «serves the best interests of society,» and whether governments can harness the technology to improve daily life.

According to Bloomberg, 83% of participants in China said they trust AI, by far the highest share in the study, Confidence levels were above 60% in Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, nations that do not belong to the UN’s very-high Human Development Index bracket, a yardstick for gauging overall well-being in a country.

The picture is the opposite in high-HDI economies. A minority of adults in the United States, Germany, Australia and Greece expressed faith that AI is being used for the common good. One notable exception is Japan, where 65% trust AI, despite the country’s high income and aging population.

The UN researchers don’t spell out why this gap exists, but other research hints at a pattern. In fast-growing economies, AI is widely promoted as a way to «skip steps» in development, perhaps filling in gaps in health care and classrooms, so the technology is viewed as a practical fix. In wealthier, more developed countries, headlines about disinformation and AI-driven job displacement dominate the conversation, leading to public unease.

Technologies

iPhone 20 Rumors Point to All-Glass ‘Waterfall’ Screen and Anniversary-Inspired Name

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple may skip «iPhone 19» altogether and deliver a 20th-anniversary handset whose display curves over all four edges, erasing traditional bezels.

If Apple really wants to make a splash for the iPhone’s 20th birthday in 2027, it may do more than just redesign the camera bump.

Apple’s engineers are prototyping an iPhone internally nicknamed «Glass Wing,» according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, speaking on the Geared Up podcast this week, with a display that flows like a waterfall not only down the left and right sides, but also over the top and bottom of the phone.

Gurman called it the «iPhone X design but on steroids,» and said that this is the phone that iOS 26 was designed for.

A foldable is expected to release at the end of 2026.

Gurman also floated the idea that Apple could brand the device the «iPhone 20,» sidestepping an «iPhone 19» to sync the model number with the anniversary year. A quad-curved, bezel-free screen would mark the iPhone’s most dramatic hardware overhaul since the iPhone X killed the Home button in 2017.

Reports out of South Korea’s ETNews say Apple is exploring «four-edge bending» OLED tech to make that borderless look possible, while Gurman’s Power On newsletter describes a «mostly glass, curved iPhone without any cutouts in the display,» hinting that the selfie camera and Face ID sensors could hide under the display.

If Apple really does jump straight to an iPhone 20, the rename would echo this year’s jump from iOS 18 to iOS 26 and 2017’s leap from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone X, signaling just how big a redesign Apple thinks this phone will be.