Electronics

[KingstonsMom]

I'm not an IPhone user, but I know that many of our posters are, so I thought that this article may be important to those who do. and I apologize in advance if this scam has been posted before.

Scammers are trying a new way of deceiving people in a bid to steal Apple login information. 

The phishing email appears to be from Spotify and says the user has purchased a year's Premium subscription for $150.99 (£115).

A hyperlink in the email is labelled as 'review your subscription' and takes the user through to an official-looking site branded with Apple logos.  

This phoney site is designed to dupe people into submitting their Apple login and password which goes straight through to the hackers. 

This information may give them unrestricted access to Apple Pay, pictures, videos and personal information.

The email and subsequent website are both well-designed and look official, but there are some key points that reveal the setup as a sham.  

Careful observation of the messages and site is crucial in spotting any fraudulent emails and can help avoid the common pitfalls. 

Confusion between the Apple and Spotify brands, for example, is an indicator the email is a hoax and no HTTPS are also giveaways. 

If users do fall for the trick and hand over their details to the schemers they could give them complete control of their account. 

In there is personal information, access to the iCloud, photos, videos and even the possibility of fraudulent purchases. 

Tim Sadler, CEO of security firm Tessian, told The Sun, 'This is an example of a classic phishing scam.

'Phishing emails, like spam, are bulk in nature, but are often farming for a user's credentials by mimicking the identity of a trusted website or service – in this case, Apple and Spotify.

'Like spam, phishing doesn't discriminate. Anyone, individual or business, can be targeted and easily duped.' 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6294633/Fake-emails-targeting-iPhone-users-claim-Spo...

[Lilysmom]

@KingstonsMom, thank you for posting this.  I find the scammers are getting more sophisticated.  The last one I encountered was a pop up chat on a Brother printer site.  The pop up was bogus.  They tried to tell me my computer had been hacked and I had to have a repair done.  It was very realistic.  I checked it out and many many people succumbed to the comeone paying between 600-700$.

I complained to Brother and Costco and included the incident in my review of the printer on the Costco site.  LM

[MJDinVegas]

Hi, @KingstonsMom!  Thanks for posting.  I occasionally get these phishing emails and, when I do, I forward the message to the fraud department of the company they are impersonating.  For Apple, the address is reportphishing at Apple dot com.  (I didn’t put it in regular email format so it wouldn’t get zapped.)