Apple users are being targeted by an elaborate and annoying phishing scam designed to change their passwords and lock them out of their devices. Krebs talks safety. In some cases, scammers will even call individuals and pretend to be Apple support personnel.
Security Krebs explains that the scam allegedly begins with a series of system notifications asking Apple users to reset their Apple ID passwords. Because the received messages are system notifications, the user cannot perform any other actions with the phone until each request is approved or denied. However, the attack did not end there.
Even if the user denies all password reset requests – one user reports More than a hundred requests received On X (formerly Twitter), scammers have an ace up their sleeve. Startup founder Parth Patel said that 15 minutes after he rejected all password reset requests he received, he received a call from someone claiming to be from Apple support.The number they called was Apple’s official support number, which he later confirmed was a cheatthe process by which bad actors can trick caller ID into showing a different name or phone number.
Patel said he remained wary after receiving the password reset request, so he asked a so-called Apple support representative to confirm some of his data.
“They got a lot of the right information from DOB [date of birth]email, phone number, current address, historical address…”Patel say on X. However, when the scammer got his name wrong, he discovered that the call wasn’t actually from Apple Support. “Although the phishers correctly stated all my data, they thought my name was Anthony S.”
Patel explained that the name “Anthony S” caught people’s attention because it matched data compiled about him by People Data Labs. People search website, or data brokers, collect personal data from various sources and sell it. Patel said he knew the data came from People Data Labs because he had previously searched his name with them, saying: “I distinctly remember them putting me in with a guy named Anthony S. )’s Midwestern elementary school teacher got it mixed up.”
The alleged Apple support representative continued to ask Patel for a one-time password sent to his phone, but he did not provide it. Krebs said on the security front that by doing so or clicking “allow” on any password reset request sent to his phone before, the scammers would reset his password and lock him out of his device. They could also remotely delete all of Patel’s data.
In his post on Krebs Security identified two more phishing attacks targeting people.
According to Krebs on Security, scammers appear to be exploiting a bug in Apple’s password reset feature, although this is just a theory at the moment.
Apple declined to comment on the phishing attack when reached by Gizmodo, instead referring Gizmodo to one of its support articles Identify phishing attacks.
“Scammers use fake caller ID information to spoof phone numbers from companies like Apple and often claim there is suspicious activity on your account or device to get your attention,” the Apple support article reads. “If you receive If you receive unsolicited or suspicious calls from someone claiming to be from Apple or Apple Support, please hang up.”