Black Friday 2024: Beware of this scam targeting those with an Apple ID, reports warn

Scammers are out in full force as Black Friday looms, and the latest attack targets all uses of Apple devices, according to reports.

The latest attack by cybercriminals involves a very believable and demanding of action warning: "Your Apple ID is suspended," according to a report in Forbes.

With more than two billion active users of Apple devices, be that an iPhone, iPod, MacBook or anything else that requires the use of an Apple ID, it's no surprise that this demographic is a prime target for cybercriminals – especially considering that they are an affluent group, given the cost of the devices.

Past scams sent to iPhone users claim that their iCloud storage capacity is nearly full and offer an upgrade to anyone falling for the prey and clicking on the button to take action.

This time the scam is similar – but it's a more urgent message.

It threatens a lack of access, just when people want to shop Black Friday sales and stretch their spending power.

Increasingly composed by AI-driven criminal language models, the fake emails are often extremely close to the real thing in appearance and tone if not intent.

Like other AI-powered support scams, these frauds are designed with one thing in mind – getting the recipient to click on an action button that takes them somewhere that can steal their account credentials, Forbes quoted tech experts as saying.

Be warned that the hook will be just as convincing as the bait in most cases, experts warned.

To frighten users, the email will most likely claim that Apple has noticed suspicious activity on your account, or that it has been outright hacked and requires the users action to guarantee safety.

"Phishing scams like the Apple ID Suspended scheme are becoming increasingly prolific and under immediate urgency," Jake Moore, a former digital crimes law enforcement officer and now a global cybersecurity adviser, told Forbes. "Many people are still manipulated by the clever tactics used by criminal hackers."

Apple advised on its website that device owners should question all requests for personal information, including email address, phone number and passwords, and assume they are all scams.

"If you believe that your Apple Account has been compromised, or if you might have entered your password or other personal information on a scam website, change your Apple Account password immediately and ensure that two-factor authentication is enabled," the Apple website advised.

Apple also shares the following advice for spotting scammers:

– They will often convey a desire to help you resolve an urgent problem.

– The urgency is to avoid giving you time to think and to dissuade you from contacting Apple yourself, directly.

– Eventually scammers will request your account information or security codes. Typically they will send you to a fake website that looks like a real Apple sign-in page and insist that you verify your identity.

"Apple will never ask you to log in to any website, or to tap Accept in the two-factor authentication dialog, or to provide your password, device passcode, or two-factor authentication code or to enter it into any website," the Apple website stated. - The Star

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