A few weeks ago we spoke about various scams that are targeting computer users. We have seen many tactics, from cold calls from “windows IT” claiming immediate action is needed to secure your computer, to scary looking pop up’s that take over the whole screen while browsing the web. It seems that scammers are trying everything these days.

We wanted to speak today about text messages. We received this message seemingly randomly the other day and wanted to share it.

This is a (poorly done) attempt to impersonate an official message from apple. The claim is that your Apple account has been disabled. If you were to click the link provided by the fake text message, it would bring you to a webpage which looks just like an apple sign-in webpage. At this point, if you provide your AppleID and Password, the scammer will have free access to your payment details, personal data, and account security. If you clicked the link, the scam was effective and problems then occur. That’s no good.

If you receive anything similar to this, there is a quick and safe way to check on the status of your account. What you should not do is reply to the message or tap to open any links in the message.

On a trusted computer, enter appleid.apple.com and navigate to the webpage. Enter your AppleID and password.

If you then see your account details, your account is in good standing, feel free to log out.

If there is any issue with your account, this is the time apple will notify you of any issues. Most likely there are none, but it does not hurt to verify. Doing this also helps verify that you have remembered your account credentials properly.

If there is any doubt if a message is official or not, please give us a call at 805 523 8105. We can help verify the legitimacy of the message, and can help make sure your accounts are still secure.