Reddit user u/Gh0sta shared a new iMessage scam that has been going around. The scammer sends a message with a URL, which is undoubtably a malicious link that sends you to a fake website. This is called a phishing attack, and aside from not tapping on that link, there might be something else you can do.
The Scam
As shown in the image, a contact called “iMessage” sends people an SMS message that says: “Your iPhoneID is due to expire today. Tap <link> to update and prevent loss of services and apps.”
There is no such thing as an ‘iPhoneID’ of course, but some Apple customers may not know that. Additionally, Apple doesn’t text people with this sort of warning. The company has a support page in place for just this situation.
What To Do
Apple says if you get a scam message like this through iMessage, you can take a screenshot of it and send it to [email protected]. If you get an iMessage from someone not in your contacts list, you’ll see a “Report Junk” option under the message, which will forward the text and sender’s information to Apple.
Since this appears to be an SMS message, not iMessage, that option might not work. Instead, the FTC provides a website to help you report text message spam. If you are an AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint or Bell subscriber, you can report spam texts to your carrier by copying the original message and forwarding it to the number 7726 (SPAM), free of charge.
MacObserver is a treasure for great articles like this. Long ago, I was a fan of MacAddict magazine. I would eagerly wait for each new issue and savor every page. Somehow, in the form of this great website, MacObserver retains something of the fun, whimsical, but darn useful flavor of MacAddict. I understand it has no relation to it. Just saying: great job.
Thanks for your comment, that’s great to hear!
I forward articles like this to my parents. I really wish there was one site (a blog?) that would just concentrate on common and current iPhone / iOS / .iCloud scams. If it existed, I would set them up for notifications to the site. Then they would keep these things in mind all the time and not become complacent about what pops up on their screen. They’re savvy most days. Most.
Thanks for the heads up! 🙂