Fraudsters are trying to take advantage of the changing of the clocks to trick people into handing over sensitive info, like usernames, passwords, and even driving licence and passport numbers.
Choosing to take advantage of the change in daylight saving hours in the UK, some users on Twitter have shared screenshots of the so-called “smishing” (an amalgam of SMS and phishing) attempt, which warns users that their AppleID is imminently expiring and urges them to update it by clicking the provided link. The message appears to come from AppleTech but that link is not something you should be clicking.
If you do, it takes you to a fake Apple landing page asking you for all sorts of different information, from your name, address and card details through to all your usual security questions, like your mother’s maiden name, driving licence or passport number. It’s certainly not the first time that this sort of opportunistic campaign has taken place, but it’s worth being reminded to be extra wary on a day when such an SMS might feel more plausible than normal. Unfortunately, it seems likely that at some people will fall for this today.
Apple users have been targeted by scammers for years due to the popularity of the company’s products and the potentially-lucrative payoff of a lured victim’s details. Earlier this year, fraudsters circulated a phishing campaign via email that included a fake invoice showing charges to a user’s account, which led to a similarly compromised site harvesting user details.
Often, if you do enter details on these sites, they report an error code and redirect you to Apple’s genuine site, but by that point it is of course, too late.
Related: How to secure your home network from hackers
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Have you falling victim to a ‘smishing’ campaign? Let us know in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
