Watch out if you use Apple’s music store
iTunes User Scam Warning – Now, whenever someone mentions Apple online, you can bet that someone will be screaming fraudsters or scam-artists at their screen or mobile device. This is just a natural reaction that some people have to a popular and hugely successful company. Yes, Apple does charge a high price for their products but the fact that so many people are willing to pay this high price indicates that they are offering something of interest. One of the good things about the free market place is that no one is forced to buy these products so if you don’t like Apple products, there are plenty of other products and brands for you to enjoy. You’ll also find that there are plenty of ways for you to voice your opinion on the internet so if you feel as though you have to say something, speak out and let your voice be heard.
The real issue at the moment is that some fraudsters and scammers are looking to piggy-back on the success of Apple. This can be seen in the rising use of a scam email which allegedly comes from the customer support team of the tech giant. The email says that it comes from staff at iTunes, the online music store provided by Apple. The amount of people who are synced up with iTunes and who use it to make online purchases makes this a very worrying situation.
Always be wary of emails asking for information
The email is titled “iTunes Account Suspension Billing Information” and it contains a request for people to provide their card details and information in order to ensure that their iTunes account remains active. This is something that many people will happily do in the blink of an eye because they don’t want their iTunes account to be suspended. Of course, this email doesn’t actually come from Apple and if you provide your banking information, you will be handing this information over to fraudsters and scammers who certainly won’t hang about with this information.
The emails look very realistic and unless you are clued up, you may find yourself falling for them. However, there are signs and tell-tale elements that should allow you to see that it is a scam. Even though the email claims to have been sent to you from Apple, the email address finishes with ourwacs.com as opposed to apple.com. This should be a big warning sign and if you spotted this element, you would know that it was a scam. At this point you should delete the email or report it to your email provider. In many ways, deleting it quickly is a smart idea but if enough people report this style of email, it could help to ensure that other people don’t become victims in the future. The email is also reported to have had a number of spelling mistakes, which is something that Apple emails are not known for.
There are steps to take if you are a victim
If you have fallen for this type of scam, the first thing that you should do is get in touch with your credit card or bank company. This will help to secure your account and hopefully no money will be missing by this point. There is also an email address at Apple that you can get in touch with to report the crime. This may be too late for you but the information that you provide could help to lower the risk of other people being subjected to a crime at a later date.
There are many different ways in which fraud can be committed and there is a growing number of ways involving emails. There will always be phone scams to look out for, such as boiler fraud scams, but email frauds remain quite popular. However, with the evolving nature of communication, it probably won’t be too long until we start seeing a lot of fraudulent activity on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. No matter the platform, if there is an opportunity for fraudsters to carry out crime, they will look to do so.
Hopefully you won’t be subjected to this sort of email but if you do, bear in mind that Apple are not going to email and then ask you to provide your banking details there and then in a reply email. If you keep this in mind, you should help to keep yourself safe from harm.
About the Author
Andrew Reilly is a freelance writer with a focus on news stories and consumer interest articles. He has been writing professionally for 9 years but has been writing for as long as he can care to remember. When Andrew isn’t sat behind a laptop or researching a story, he will be found watching a gig or a game of football.
Photo credit: Ricardo Liberato
