Apple Customers Being Targeted in “iCloud Mail”; Phishing Scam
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What the fact-checkers found
Apple customers are being targeted in yet another phishing scam. Bogus “Welcome to iCloud” scam emails are currently hitting inboxes. The messages claim that Apple was unable to confirm your account information and warn that your account has been suspended pending resolution of the problem.
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Fake Emails Tell You to Click To Lift The Suspension
The emails urge you to click a link and follow the instructions to rectify the supposed issue.
The bogus emails look like this:
Link Opens a Fraudulent Apple Sign In Page
If you click on the link in the scam email you will be taken to a fake website that has been built to emulate a real Apple sign In page. Once on the fake site, you will be asked to sign in with your Apple ID and password.
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Bogus Forms Then Ask For Your Personal and Financial Information
Next, you will be asked to supply your name and credit card details.
After you click the “Continue” button on the fake form, you will be taken to a second form that asks for your home address, phone number, and date of birth.
When you click the “Finish” button, you will be automatically redirected to the genuine Apple website.
Criminals Now Have Your Data
At this point, the crooks can collect all of the information you’ve supplied. They can use the information to:
Access your Apple account, steal more information you have stored there, make purchases in your name, and use your Apple email account to send spam and scam messages.
Buy products and services using your credit card.
Attempt to steal your identity.
Apple Customers Continually Targeted
This type of phishing attack is far from uncommon. Apple is targetted almost continually via such phishing scams, as are other high profile companies such as PayPal.
If you receive one of these emails, do not click any links in the message. It is always best to login to your Apple account by entering the address into your browser’s address bar or via an official app.
Report Scams to Apple
The Apple website includes more information about identifying such phishing scams. It includes email addresses that you can use to report phishing scam messages that have come your way.
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Paste it into the detector and see whether it matches a known hoax.
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