BILLIONS of Apple customers have been warned that they are the target of a new scam that can take over their accounts.
If you have recently received an email claiming that your Apple ID is suspended – delete it immediately.
Cyber crooks are sending eerily convincing Apple ID suspension emails to customers that have been created by AI.
AI-composed scam emails often look really close to the real thing.
Artificially intelligent tools allow criminals to avoid the usual pitfalls of spelling and grammar mistakes, which consumers can use to detect a phishing email.
The email pushes recipients to click a blue button labelled “Go to Apple ID”.
It warns that customers must verify their identity within 24hours, or risk losing access to their account.
However, clicking the button takes unsuspecting customers to a fake website designed to steal their username, password and other personal details.
“Phishing scams like the Apple ID Suspended scheme are becoming increasingly prolific and under immediate urgency,” Jake Moore, a former digital crimes law enforcement officer and now global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, said.
“Many people are still manipulated by the clever tactics used by criminal hackers.”
If you can’t detect any suspicious errors in the text, “it is important to verify the sender’s email address for any discrepancies,” Moore continued.
“And avoid clicking on suspicious links as this is where scams often begin,” he said, adding “if you are ever in doubt of an Apple ID issue, go directly to the official Apple website to double check.”
APPLE ID COMPROMISED? THE OFFICIAL SIGNS
Here’s Apple’s official list of clues that your Apple ID has been compromised…
- Apple notified you (notification or email) about accounty activity that you don’t recognize (for example, if your Apple ID was used to sign in to a device that you don’t recognize or your password was changed but you didn’t change it).
- You notice unusual activity like messages that you didn’t send, deleted items that you didn’t delete, or purchase activity that you don’t recognize.
- Your password no longer works, you don’t recognize some or all of your account details, or your device was locked or placed in Lost Mode by someone other than you.
How to get your Apple account back
“If you’re suspicious about an unexpected message, call, or request for personal information, such as your email address, phone number, password, security code, or money,” Apple says in a support page on its website, “it’s safer to presume that it’s a scam.”
If you believe that your Apple Account has been compromised, or if you might have entered your password or other personal information on a scam website, change your Apple Account password immediately.
You must also ensure that two-factor authentication is enabled.
“Apple will never ask you to log in to any website, or to tap Accept in the two-factor authentication dialog, or to provide your password, device passcode, or two-factor authentication code or to enter it into any website,” says Apple.
