Don't get caught out by these Apple email scams

Do you get emails reporting problems with your Apple ID or iTunes purchases you cant remember? They are fakes and here are examples to help upi spot the fakes from real messages from Apple.

There are many email scams and there are people that are constantly working on ways to fool you into revealing your bank details, login details to online services and so on. You need to be aware of the dangers and how to avoid them.

Here are some typical emails that tried to fool me into revealing my Apple ID, the username and password used to log into Apple services like iTunes, or infect my computer with malware, spyware or adware. You might get a similar ones, so take a look and learn how to spot the fakes.

Apple ID locked

I know this is fake because it arrived on an old and seldom used email account but even if it had arrived on a current email account, you should never click links in emails. When my mouse hovered over the blue button, the URL was displayed at the bottom of the browser and it wasn't an Apple website.

Beware of email attachments

This email contains an attachment and it asks me to open it and read it. It is obviously fake because:

1. It says 'Dear Customer' - phishing emails often begin like this because the sender doesn't know your name and just bulk sends the same message to everyone.
2. Poor use of English with several mistakes.
3. If there was a problem, would Apple really send you a PDF? It is very unlikely.

Attachments to fake emails are often aimed at Windows PCs, but you still should not open them on an Apple Mac. It probably contains something malicious, so don't risk it. To see if there really is a problem, sign into an Apple site like iCloud, the App Store on your iPhone, or appleid.apple.com on your Mac and check your account.

This email contains another attachment, this time a Microsoft Word document. Don't open it! It is fake because:

1. The From address is clearly not Apple.
2. It begins 'Dear Member' and Apple never says this in emails.
3. I have bought lots of things from the App Store and email receipts do not look like this.

Do not verify your Apple ID

Here is the email and it had the subject: Apple ID Temporarily locked. It was a nicely designed email that used a sheet of paper graphic and had an Apple logo in the top right corner. I haven't shown all of it because there isn't enough space here, but it goes on to include more Apple information at the bottom. This is one of the most convincing I have received. How do you know whether this is real or not?

I always start with the assumption that emails like this are fake, unless it contains something that proves it must be real. I immediately know it is fake because it came through on the wrong email address. It is a support email for another website I manage. It is actually quite useful having multiple email addresses and using them for different purposes. When an email arrives in the wrong account you know it's wrong without even reading it.

Another way you can tell that the email is wrong is that it does not mention my name. When dealing with companies they usually include your full name, but scammers can be clever and include this, so it isn't a guarantee that an email is real.

The email encourages me to click a link and validate my account. If you do this, you give the scammer your username and password and then they'll be in your account in no time and buying all manner of stuff and charging it to your credit card.

It is worth repeating: Never click links in emails.

What you should do is to open a browser window and go to the Apple website or log in to iTunes on your Apple Mac, iPhone or iPad. The URL, if you are not sure, is appleid.apple.com but you can also use support.apple.com/apple-id.

It is possible for scammers to fake websites, but if you open Safari and type in the address yourself, it iwill be the real Apple website. Clicking the green padlock shows the security certificate, which confirms that the website being viewed is owned by Apple. This means it is safe to log in and once logged in you can check your account and see if there really is a problem. Of course, there was nothing wrong, it was an email scam. Don't get caught out!