How to Easily Spot and Avoid Apple ID Phishing Scams

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A complete overview of phishing attacks targeting Apple users

You may be familiar with the concept of “phishing”, an increasingly complex form of cyber-attack. The tactics used involve sharing disguised links, usually included in emails, to trick you into providing sensitive information to malicious individuals.

Phishing is one of the most common types of online attacks and embodies social engineering tactics.

And what’s even more frightening is that even people who lack advanced programming skills can access phishing kits on the dark web and as a result, they can easily target you.

If you are completely new to this topic and would like to learn more, we encourage you to access our complete guide on phishing to understand what it is, how it works, and how you can protect yourself against it:

* The ABCs of Detecting and Preventing Phishing

In this article, we are going to take a closer look at phishing attempts involving Apple IDs.

Today there are over 1.4 billion active Apple devices, which require Apple IDs to gain access to Apple services like Apple Music, App Store, iCloud, FaceTime, iMessage, and others. Also, think about the fact that you don’t even require an Apple device to access Apple-related software or services, such as iTunes or log in to Apple’s official website, so imagine the number of people who can be targeted.

Why are scammers trying to steal your Apple ID?

The reason is obvious – your Apple ID is your ticket to using anything Apple-related and stores a great deal of personal information.

* You use your Apple ID to log in to your Apple devices – think Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, and in the future you might even be using it for your Apple self-driving car, according to recent rumors.

* It includes your payment and shipping information for purchasing applications from the App Store and devices by logging in to Apple.com.

* With the Apple ID you can access your security settings, subscriptions, and in-app purchases associated with it.

* Your Apple ID is used to access iCloud, where you can store your photos and any types of files and the theft of these can lead to blackmailing and even sextorsion.

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