Oliver Haslam·

Beware: Do Not Fall For This iMessage / SMS iPhone Scam

iPhone user? Beware! There’s a new iMessage / SMS phishing scam targeting iPhone owners with the claim that their Apple ID has expired, and invites them on how to proceed to fix it.

Email spam and phishing attacks are something that we are all very familiar with, and while anti-spam solutions have improved beyond measure over the years, scammers have now turned their attentions to other mediums. One of those is the SMS and iMessage system that iPhone owners are familiar with, and scammers are now targeting those users in an attempt to phish them.

The scam itself is actually simply in its execution. Targeted users receive an SMS which appears to be sent by someone with the name “iMessage” which would normally set the alarm bells ringing for readers of sites like this, but it is an unfortunate fact that the mass populous is not as savvy as us, so when they then see a message suggesting that their services and apps are at risk if they do not click or tap a URL, they are very likely to do that. It is at this point where things obviously go somewhat south.

Your iPhoneID is due to expire today. Tap <link> to update and prevent loss of services and apps.

If you receive a message like that then the best thing you can do is report it to Apple by sending a screenshot to imessage.spam@apple.com. While the message itself is sent via SMS, and in some cases even iMessage, we are sure Apple will be interested in seeing it regardless. Beyond that, customers of AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint or Bell can report spam texts to their carrier directly by forwarding the original message to 7726 (SPAM), free of charge.

As always we would remind everyone to be on the lookout for scams like this and remember to be skeptical of messages of this ilk. Scammers are everywhere. Oh and don’t forget to share this with your loved family and friends who have iPhones so that they are aware of this as well.

(Source: Reddit)

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