What about just accepting the job, faking a medical problem that requires extended time away from work not to keep the paycheck, but just to officially remain on staff for the purposes of future background checks, and meanwhile apply to other companies. You could just take an unpaid extended medical leave for cancer treatment and bribe an MD to make a phony "sick note" similar to playing hookey back in grade school.

You wouldn't be defrauding anybody if you're not getting paid. You could take a sabbatical for 6-9 months and tell better companies you were working for Amazon that whole time.

In retrospect, that might have been a crafty idea. At the time, I was a naïve 25 year old, and dishonesty/conniving wasn't really part of my personality, or at least not when it came to work.

I'm more than happy to tell better companies I've received offers from Google and Amazon and declined them, though.

I think the solution you went for was better, you don't want to be accused of fraud, that would really look bad.

Honesty is generally the best policy, imo :)

Their recruiters still reach out to me at least annually despite me bailing on an interview midway through due to a similar experience to yours in 2014.

I used to (rather rudely) tell them off but recruiter turnover there is just as bad as every other department so it never stuck.