I just received a text message as an [Apple Security Alert] stating,
we have noticed that your Apple id was used at “APPLE STORE” for $143.95, paid by Apple Pay Pre Authorization.
This appears to be a phishing scam?
[Edited by Moderator]
iPhone 13, iOS 17
THANKS FOR POSTING THIS! I just got it too — assumed it was a scam — never had received anything like that before from Apple. But was immediately confirmed for me when I googled about the scam, and you'd put "$143.95" in your post, which is the same amount they had in my scam text. Another way the scammers try to get you: it says, "Failing [to call the number] may lead to auto debit and charge will not be reversed" So I went straight to all my payment accounts and there were no flags, no charges...then googled the number to see if it was legit — none of the prefixes matched the normal support numbers for Apple. I didn't click any of the links within the text, but typed the apple support url they had, separately into my browser, and that was the correct url, so we know clicking their link within the text would've given them what they wanted — remember, just because it says a legitimate url DOES NOT MEAN it links to a legitimate url, so NEVER click a live link within a suspicious text. Conclusion: sneaky, perhaps getting more subtle and clever, but just another scam, successfully dodged. I hit "delete/report" junk. And will now go update passwords next.
sarausername wrote:
Same. Just received the exact same. Literally identical. They're still scamming.
Yes, they are, because it works well enough to generate billions of dollars in revenue from people who fail to realize it is a scam (that is not an exaggeration, by the way). I’m glad to see that you recognize a scam when you see one.
WOW, I too just received a text " We have noticed that your Apple iCloud id was recently used at "APPLE STORE-CA" for $ 143.95, paid by Apple Pay Pre-Authorization. Also some suspicious sign in request detected. yada yada yada, keeps going on and wants you to call some +1 828xxxxxxx number.. I knew this was a scam BECAUSE,, I do not use Apple Pay and have no payment platform set up on my phone. Also the phone number is not correct for U.S.A.. It is comfort to see 'other' people report on this and yes, ironically the same dollar amount is listed. I just hope that individuals that 'use' Apple Pay do not fall for this.
[Edited by Moderator]
pfhughes wrote:
The phone number on this scam text is a Hawaiian area code. Hmm!
The calling numbers shown are not those of the sender, just as the sending email addresses are not those of the sender. They’re fakes, or they’re appropriated-by-the-spammer real addresses of somebody else unrelated.
If the calling numbers were real, or if the sending email addresses were real, they could be easily blocked.
In some cases, the numbers or addresses are real, but they’re not the spammer’s. The sending numbers or sending email addresses can be associated with some unrelated-to-the-spam-itself person that the spammer wants to get others to harass and bombard with angry replies and “unsubscribe” me replies. Basically, some spammers use the anger of the recipients to harass somebody.
Or the spammer will send manufactured information — propaganda, lies, whatever — intended to turn the recipients against the sender, or to fleece the recipient, all by forging the sending info, and quite possibly also by posting similarly false websites and embedded links. Politics, propaganda, manipulation, fraud, all sorts of motivations to lie. Phishing mail and other sorts of fraud also works like this, including with well-crafted fake “login portal” websites, too.
I had somebody forge one of my email addresses in their spam runs years ago, and I got immense numbers of returned email message errors from misconfigured email servers, and errors and replies and for days, and that from a much smaller spam run and from a much smaller internet. The computer spent all its time just receiving the backwash of that spam.
You can trust certainly, but verify. We’re all unfortunately swimming in fraudulent email and SMS messages, and in the ever-increasing tsunami of AI-generated text spewage.
MrHoffman wrote:
You can trust certainly, but verify. We’re all unfortunately swimming in fraudulent email and SMS messages, and in the ever-increasing tsunami of AI-generated text spewage.
This isn’t new. Around 20 years ago a close friend who was writing a techno-thriller asked (by email) if it was possible for someone to send an email that appeared to be from his protagonist Jon Knox, but was actually from a agent of a secret organization. My reply to him came from Jon Knox.
Lawrence Finch wrote:
MrHoffman wrote:
You can trust certainly, but verify. We’re all unfortunately swimming in fraudulent email and SMS messages, and in the ever-increasing tsunami of AI-generated text spewage.
This isn’t new. Around 20 years ago a close friend who was writing a techno-thriller asked (by email) if it was possible for someone to send an email that appeared to be from his protagonist Jon Knox, but was actually from a agent of a secret organization. My reply to him came from Jon Knox.
An old mail system often sent messages to the recipients server synchronously line-by-line, as the user entered their lines of text. I tapped into the receiving mail server, and was answering arriving messages before the sender even finished mailing their message to me.
In this era, you can do the same thing with, for instance, reading web input form input data before the user saves the form.
Digitally signing more recent mail messages (S/MIME) is slightly tougher to fake, though.
But it’s just far easier to simply lie to the recipients, and some number of recipients will believe the lie. Much like the ongoing “pervert” sextortion scam, and other scams.
My wife got this text from a Hotmail accountApple Approval Notice
We have noticed that your Apple iCloud id was recently used at "APPLE STORE - CA" for $143.95, paid by Apple Pay Pre Authorization. Also some suspicious sign in request and apple pay activation request detected. That looks like suspicious to us. In order to maintain the security and privacy of your account we have placed those request on hold. If NOT you? talk to an Apple Representative. Failing may lead to auto debit and charge will not be reversed. Call +1 808498**** immediately to cancel this charge.
Billing Department : Subscriptions and Billing - Official Apple Support
Have a great day!
[Edited by Moderator]
Lawrence Finch wrote:
PLEASE, PLEASE read threads before posting a new message in a thread. By reading only a few posts you would have learned that MILLIONS of people get the same or a similar scam message every day.
Can we merge this thread with the "I want TikTok" threads?
Please please make it easier to get Apple support for fraudulent activity!! It is an amazing baffle to get support at all thru Apple. And if Apple wants to stay in quasi banking business, you really need to up your game on fraudulent activity support. Amazing naivety and stupidity on Apples part….
Hepzi wrote:
Please please make it easier to get Apple support for fraudulent activity!! It is an amazing baffle to get support at all thru Apple. And if Apple wants to stay in quasi banking business, you really need to up your game on fraudulent activity support. Amazing naivety and stupidity on Apples part….
Apple supports you by providing you with all sorts of tool. No one can protect you from phishing except you.
This is an insulting message. Finding anything on the Apple website is like looking for a needle in a haystack--and there is no easy way to contact either. All dispersed over the various enterprises. I suspected a phish and tried to to do the responsible thing and find info from Apple--impossible!! Finally used Google--yes Google!! to search for info on YOUR site. For a company that wants to lend, process payments, etc you sure have lousy customer support, protections and information. YOu will soon be regulated like a bank and forced into responsibility.
Motown27 wrote:
…so I called and hung up right away!!
Calling verifies your telephone number as working, as willing to engage, and makes your number worth more for further spamming and phishing, and for re-sale to others.
Heaven11-1 wrote:
What if I stupidly gave them my first and last name but then hung up
That's information that's publicly available. It's not something I'd worry about. If you had given them log-in information, your Social Security number, date of birth, passcodes to anything or had allowed them remote access to your computer, then you would have reason to be concerned.
Eddiespeg wrote:
I received the same text..
Literally (and I mean literally) MILLIONS of people have received it. You are not alone. It is sent by bots installed on co-opted computers, mostly Windows PCs.
I received this messageApple Approval Notice
We have noticed that your Apple iCloud id was recently used at "APPLE STORE - CA" for $143.95, paid by Apple Pay Pre Authorization. Also some suspicious sign in request and apple pay activation request detected. That looks like suspicious to us. In order to maintain the security and privacy of your account we have placed those request on hold. Your Photos, Data, Bank Information and Cards are at risk. If NOT you? talk to an Apple Representative. Failing may lead to auto debit and charge will not be reversed. Call +1808203**** immediately to cancel this charge.
Billing Department : Subscriptions and Billing - Official Apple Support
Have a great day!
[Edited by Moderator]
The administrators do that unfortunately. I posted a screenshot of a text I received and the administrators emailed me to tell me they “edited” my post. I looked at it and saw they blocked out the phone number at the top and in the body of the text. I can’t understand why they are protecting scammers’ information.
Identifying Phishing Scams in text messages
