Phishing That Looks Like A Text From Apple
Scammers will use anything they think someone will fall for. Most phishing attempts are obviously fake, but with AI, they are looking more legit every day. Today’s post shows you what to look out for; this time, it’s a phishing text claiming to be from Apple.
What The Phishing Message Looks Like
The text message people have been randomly receiving claims there is some kind of issue with a purchase, usually a large dollar amount, and says that “Apple temporarily blocked transactions and placed a hold on your account.” It then says that if you don’t take action, it will process the order within 24 hours.
All of this is a classic phishing process:
- Use a major company that everyone knows about
- Give a large dollar amount purchase to trigger a panic about a person’s expenses
- Give an immediate or very short deadline to take action before that large purchase happens to you
- Lastly, give a legitimate-looking customer support number that you need to call to correct this situation
The reality of this phishing text:
- The scammers will get you to call and respond like they are from customer service (in this case, Apple)
- They will ask you to confirm your account information and the address associated with your account
- In many cases, they will say that you need to download a file to your tablet, phone, or computer that is to “protect your machine” from possible hacking. Even though the file you are downloading is used for hacking. If you download the file they want you to download, they will access and control your device and get copies of all the files on your device before you even hang up
- Lastly, they will say that they need you to confirm the payment method you regularly use with your account, and of course they will also need the expiration date and 3-digit PIN, just to make sure they can block the card from being processed. Once you give that information, your card will be used before they even hang up with you
Since you are in a panic about the text, you probably won’t notice everything that is happening to you at the hands of the scammers.
How To Identify Text Is A Scam
You can start with the top of the text; they include a case number. This is a message about a transaction that most likely you don’t know anything about, yet a case number that requires your involvement is listed. So you are opening Apple cases in your sleep?
OK, to verify any Apple cases, you can go to the Apple Support page and, on that page, fill in the case number and your last name.
If this were an actual case, you would get the status of your case. In the case of the text you received, you will see that Apple is UNABLE TO FIND YOUR CASE. That should be all you need to confirm the text is a scam.
Funny enough, if you just don’t know and really want to confirm what the text is, using your favorite AI is another step you can take to verify that the text is phishing. In our case, we will be using Duck.AI for the questions, which are
- Look at the top of the text, at the sending number. You will see that the sending number of 203-243-2251 can not be located in any public listing. Apple, as well as all other major businesses, will not text or call you from random phone numbers. Any number they use will be associated with their business.
- Next, look at the text section that says to call Apple Support at 866-557-4631. Again, Apple, as well as all other major businesses, will not text or call you from random phone numbers. Any number they use will be associated with their business.
- Last question to ask Duck.AI: What is the Apple Customer Support number? You will find that in the USA, the number is 800-275-2273. You can ask the same question to AI for your country.
With all of that, the text from Apple is NOT from Apple, and yes, it is phishing.
Final Thought
If you get one of these messages, DON’T FALL FOR IT. If it’s on the internet, it doesn’t automatically make it legit. Pay attention before clicking on links or responding to messages. If you see a message like this, block the number and DO NOT respond to the message.
Sources:
- Apple – Apple Support Page
- Duck.AI – Questions about Text
