The States of Jersey Police has been made aware of an email scam circulating in Jersey that tells members of the public that their Apple ID has been disabled for “security reasons.”
This email looks like an official email from Apple. You will have an Apple ID if you have registered to use iTunes or many other Apple products. You don’t need to own an Apple iPhone or Mac to have an Apple ID.
This is a phishing scam which is designed to steal your Apple ID and password. Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
The phishing email looks official and currently includes the subject line “Update your Apple ID account”. Other known subject lines include: “Please update your Apple ID”, “Please verify the email address associated with your Apple ID”, and “Your Apple ID has been Disabled for Security Reasons”. Similar versions could also reference iTunes.
The email includes a link which, when clicked, takes you to a fake, but realistic looking Apple website asking you to sign in to your account.
To see if it’s a scam email, hover your cursor over the link. If it’s a phishing email, you’ll find that it does not go to an Apple domain. If you need to log on to manage your Apple ID account or any other online service, source the website address independently of any such emails and type it directly into your browser.
The States of Jersey Police urge Islanders to be alert to letter and email scams and hoaxes, where they may be approached and asked for bank account or credit card details, and other personal information. You should never give out personal details via email, letter or text, to an unknown sender, as this is just another version of “cold calling” by scammers. Always be suspicious of unsolicited emails. Do not click links or open attachments unless you are confident about the sender and information the email contains. The best advice is to simply delete the email.
There is a UK agency that collates all email and correspondence scams. Recipients of such approaches should copy the correspondence to www.actionfraud.org.uk
