There's a new phishing scam making the rounds that tries to trick victims into giving up their Apple ID, account password, and credit card information. The looks more legit than many others The Mac Observer has seen, but it's still fake, and fairly easy to spot.
The latest phishing scam trying to steal your Apple ID and credit card
The threat, spotted by Comodo Antispam Labs, targets potential victims with an email claiming their account has been "limited." It goes on to say that providing personal information will fix the problem, and includes a link to a website that looks surprisingly legit. Once there, you're asked to enter your Apple ID, name, birthdate, address, social security number, and credit card information.
If you aren't paying close attention, the email sounds legit, and the website looks like something Apple would design. The easy tells for the scam, however, are in the email message.
The email message doesn't have the usual misspellings, random punctuation, or Yoda-like grammar. What it does have is a stilted feel that and an unprofessional tone that wraps up with an agressive push to get you to give up your Apple ID.
Two stand-out sentences all but scream, "I'm a scam email." Here's the first:
This is part of our security process and helps ensure that we continue to be a safer way to buy and sell.
The sentence makes it sound like Apple is eBay, and feels like an incomplete thought.
The second sentence reads:
The sooner you provide the information we need, the sooner we can resolve the situation
It feels like a desperate threat, and the even bigger tell is the missing period at the end of the sentence.
If you get an email telling you there's a problem with your Apple ID and you think there's a chance it's legit (hint: it probably isn't), don't click the links in the message. Instead, go to Apple's website where you can manage your Apple ID yourself. The URL Apple uses for managing Apple IDs is https://appleid.apple.com.
If you think you've been tricked into giving up your Apple ID, go to the Apple ID management webpage and change your password. Also contact your bank in case the credit card linked to your Apple ID has been compromised.