An 'Apple' email that will get you 'hacked'

A client of iTandCoffee forwarded me this email this morning, querying what she should do about a service she is supposedly being charged for - one which she wasn't aware she had. She wanted to know what to do about it.  Here is the email she forwarded to me.

I must say that, at first glance, it appeared to be a legitimate email. 

In fact, the Cancel and Manage Subscriptions link in the email takes you to a page that looks like the next image.  As you can see, it looks very authentic, asking for your sign-in details for your Apple account.

Would you sign in to check your 'Apple Music' subscription if you received this email?

Hopefully you have already guessed that the email is a scam by spotting the signs.

​Here are the signs that I always look for:

• The email does not include the client's first and/or last name, to prove that the sender knows more details than just the email address.
• It has very poor English in the title: 'Confirmation your purchase invoice iTunes Music Membership # QN0012BGG'
• The from address was not Apple - it was From: "iCloud" <[email protected]>. (Clicking on the down-arrow next to the email address shows the 'from' details'.)
• When I hover my mouse over the Cancel and Manage Subscriptions ​ link, it shows that the link will not take me to the Apple website.

The aim of an email like this is to get you to sign in the the fake webpage with your Apple ID, so that the scammers can steal this information and gain access to your Apple account - which may include your iCloud backup, Contacts list, your iCloud email account, photos and more.

If you have used the same email address and password elsewhere, these criminals will gain access to more than just your Apple account.

Please be vigilant and never click a link in an email like this. And please use different passwords for all your online accounts.

A 'password keeper' app like 1Password or OneSafe can keep your passwords safe in one place, and only require you to remember a single password to gain access to all your different passwords. Or even consider using a Locked Note on your iPad or iPhone to store your list of  passwords.

If this client had signed in using the fake page, my recommendation would have been to IMMEDIATELY change her Apple password by visiting appleid.apple.com.

If you even get an email like this that you would like advice about, please forward it to [email protected] and we will advise you via return email of whether the email is safe to open - or what to do if you have already opened it!

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• Make sure Safari on your iPhone and iPad is warning you about suspect websites
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• A video that answers the question, "Where do I safely store all my passwords?".
• When a strange message appears in Facebook on your iPhone/iPad, and you don't want to press OK
• How to stay safer online - adding an extra layer of protection
• I keep getting  a message showing a sign-in is requested from a strange location.  (In Melbourne, it shows St Kilda.)
• ​Some information for travellers about iMessage and safe internet usage
• Make sure 'Airdrop' is secured on your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Mac
• When a disgusting message or photo pops up on your iPhone or iPad!  How did that happen?
• Scamwatch: Beware of the Parking Fine scam email
• ​Can your bank account be accessed by someone who has stolen your mobile number?
• Can you spot which of these emails is real, and which is a scam?