‘Your Invoice From Apple’ Phishing Scam
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
What the fact-checkers found
This supposed invoice email, which purports to be from Apple, thanks you for purchasing a MacBook laptop computer. The email, which uses the Apple logo and colour scheme, includes images of the laptop along with details of the order.
Here is what the scam email looks like:
However, the email is not from Apple and no such purchase was made via your account. Instead, the email is a phishing scam designed to steal your personal and financial information.
The criminals who sent these scam emails hope that at least a few recipients will be fooled into clicking the payment cancellation link.
If you do click the link you will be taken to a fraudulent website that has been built to emulate Apple’s genuine website. Once on the fake site, you will be asked to sign in with your Apple ID.
After you have signed in, you will see a message claiming that your Apple ID has been suspended due to suspicious activity.
If you then click the “Verification Account” button, the following Account Verification form will load in your browser:
The fake form asks for your name and contact details as well as your credit card numbers.
After completing and submitting the form, you may be redirected to the real Apple website.
But, now, the criminals can collect all of the information you supplied and use it to hijack your Apple account, conduct fraudulent transactions with your credit card, and, possibly, steal your identity.
Criminals regularly target Apple users via scam emails like the one above. Be wary of any email that claims to be from Apple and urges you to click a link to cancel a payment, avoid an account suspension, verify your information, or fix a supposed problem with your account.
If such an email hits your inbox, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains. It is always safest to access your online accounts by entering the address into your browser’s address bar or via a trusted app.
The Apple support website includes information about identifying and reporting scam emails.
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