Apple has posted / updated a Support article on its website outlining what a legitimate e-mail from Apple will never ask users to do. This way, they should ensure that they do not hand their personal information to a third party.

Apple begins by signaling that an iTunes Store customer will never be asked to provide important personal information via e-mail. That includes sensitive account information, such as passwords or credit card numbers. Again, Apple doesn’t do this via e-mail!

“On occasion, the iTunes Store will need to request certain account-specific information from you, in order to assist you in a support request,” the Mac maker explains. “This may include a request for you to verify your billing address, name a song that you have purchased in the past, provide a web order number from your purchase history, or to provide your iTunes Store account name and email address.”

That’s pretty much what Apple will require you to provide via e-mail, the company suggests. “What the iTunes Store will never ask you to provide via email,” Apple stresses, is this:

Social Security Number;
Mother's maiden name;
Full credit card number;
Credit card CCV code.

And here’s why: “‘Phishers’ create elaborate websites that look similar to iTunes, but their sole purpose is to collect your account information,” the Cupertino-based company warns. “Often, a fake email will ask you to click on a link and visit one of these phishing websites to ‘update your account information.’” As such, Apple decided that most account-related activities would not take place in a web browser, but directly in the iTunes application.

“If you are asked to update your account information, make sure that you do so only in iTunes or on a legitimate page on Apple.com, such as the online Apple Store,” Apple concludes. Customers should also be sure to notify iTunes Customer Support, should they receive a suspicious e-mail such as the ones described above.

The company also offers additional information on identifying Phishing e-mails and how to recognize a secure website in Safari, via separate Support articles. Visit Apple here to learn more about Phishing and how to protect yourself.