According to this email, which purports to be from Apple, the company has noticed unusual activity in your account and believes that an unauthorised person has gained access.
Thus, claims the email, you will need to verify your account to continue using Apple services. It urges you to click a link and follow the instructions to complete the verification process.
However, Apple did not send the email and the claim that you must verify your account is untrue.
Instead, the email is a phishing scam that attempts to steal your Apple ID, credit card details, and other personal information.
If you click the link, you will be taken to a fraudulent website that has been built to emulate a genuine Apple login page. When you arrive on the bogus site, you will be asked to sign in with your Apple ID email address and password.
Next, you will be taken to a fake verification form that asks for your credit card numbers, name and contact details, and other identifying personal information.
After you submit the fake form, you will see a final message stating that you have successfully verified and secured your account.
But, the criminals can collect the information you supplied and use it to hijack your Apple account and commit fraudulent transactions with your credit card. They may also have gathered enough information to steal your identity.
Phishing scams like this one regularly target Apple users. Be wary of any message that purports to be from Apple and claims that you must click a link or open an attached file to rectify a supposed account issue.
The Apple website includes information about identifying and reporting such scam messages.
A transcript of the scam email:
Dear Customer,
We noticed an unusual activity in your account and we believe an unauthorised person has accessed your account. In order to continue using Apple services you need to verify your account information.
Once you update your account information, we will manually review your account, If we need any additional information we will contact you on your provided contact number. After complete validation we will unlock your Apple ID
This process will help us to protect your account in future.
To proceed to confirm your account information, please click on the link below and follow the instruction
[Link Removed]
We are really apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Regards,
Apple Support
