Apple email scam collecting Australian credit card details
Every other week – or so it seems – there are new stories hitting the news about credit card fraud or internet scams swindling Australians out of their hard-earned cash. Phishing emails are nothing new, with every man and his dog now knowing the dangers of replying to emails from Nigerian princes asking for a few hundred dollars in return for thousands.
Pretty much everyone knows what to look for now when they receive a phishing email. Bad grammar, dodgy logos, suspiciously good deals, and requests for bank account details all point towards the email being less than trustworthy.
But what happens when one comes along that looks real?
A new Apple-related email scam that is currently doing the rounds seems to be fooling quite a few trusting Apple customers in Australia. As you can see from the screenshot of the email below, it would be easy to believe it is real.
The Apple logo looks real enough, the email address looks believable, the deal doesn’t ask for much and doesn’t offer suspicious amounts in return. It even goes so far as to add a Copyright statement at the bottom of the email.
All the Apple customer has to do is complete the downloadable form, with their name, address, credit card details and security code (on the back of the credit card). Nine dollars would then be deducted from their account, and they would receive the $100 iTunes discount card via email.
Many people would not think twice about this. We hand over our credit cards and credit card details all the time. Whether we are buying something online or over the phone, or in a face-to-face environment with a merchant, we happily hand over our card details as long as we have that trust with the seller.
And this email generally does look trustworthy. Apart from some clumsy wording, the email doesn’t give much cause for concern. However, once that Apple customer has sent off his credit card details, the people on the other end of the email can do whatever they like with the information.
They could use it themselves to purchase expensive items, or they could sell the information on to other parties. The credit card holder could have to endure loss of funds – hopefully covered by the bank – stress, and many more repercussions just for answering an email.
While we may be desensitised to news stories about credit card crime and credit card fraud, or we may think we are too smart to be caught up in credit card scams, it is still vital that we are vigilant with our banking and credit card information. As we get smarter, so do the fraudsters, so it is vital to think twice before handing out personal information – even if the source looks credible enough.
1 Comment
My friend works for Apple and he says that you should never trust these emails. Apple sells stuff as low as they can make them and so they donâÃÂÂÂÃÂÂÂt give other discounts no matter how good a customer you are. Beware of email scams!!!