14 DAY TRIAL // The number of phishing scams targeting Apple users has surged in the past few months, with many cybercriminals attempting to steal the passwords of regular iTunes users and, more recently, developers.
Pictured left is just one of the many new phishing scams targeting Apple Developers who are eager to get back in the game, amid a week-long Dev Center outage.
“To get back into your apple account, you’ll need to confirm your account. It’s easy: click the link below to open a secure browser window. Confirm that you’re the owner of the account and then follow the instructions,” says the email.
“Before log in your account will be Confirmed, let us know straight away,” reads the text, which exhibits clear signs that it hasn’t been written by the people at Apple.
But unwary developers (such as non-native English speakers) might be tricked into thinking that, by supplying their password, they’ll gain access to the Dev Center tools.
In reality, all this email does is attempt to steal their existing password so that the authors of the phishing scam can then use their account for illicit purchases and other things.
According to ZDNet, the site it points to is not a legitimate Apple domain. The report cites security firm Kasperky Lab as saying that Apple-related phishing scams have skyrocketed in recent months.
It’s not always easy to spot these fakes (though this particular example screams scam), but it’s best to be cautious about any emails allegedly coming from Apple (or any other company) with a request to change your password.
It’s best if you try and change your account information at your own request, just in case you have any doubts. In Apple’s case, the proper destination for that is My Apple ID over at the Cupertino company’s official web site.