Your iPhone does a good job of blocking a number of threats like viruses and malware. But no operating system is perfect. There are still a number of scams floating around that you can fall for if you’re not aware of their nature and diligent.
To avoid getting phished and falling for scams that seem as real as can be, be on the lookout for these six common iPhone scams that security experts say not to fall for — as well as how to spot them.
Fake Pop-Ups
Apple is great at keeping pop-ups off of your device. If you start receiving suspicious-looking pop-ups on your device, and especially ones that sound threatening, don’t click on them. Many of these pop-ups will contain messages that warn you that you have a virus on your device right now and the only way to get rid of it is to click on the pop-up. Don’t fall for this scam.
Emails That Pretend They’re a Company
One of the biggest scams is receiving an email that looks as if it’s from a legitimate company. The email may offer you something for free, or it may ask you to click on links to view a supposed “bill” you incurred from their services. But if you look closely, you’ll see the website’s address is not quite right -- or the company name itself is missing a letter in it.
Apple Support Voicemails & Calls
Scammer don’t just stop at sending you emails. You can get phone calls from people who claim they are from Apple Support. If anyone calls and asks you for more personal information or for your credit card information, do not provide it. Hang up and do research into whether this call was legit.
Emails That Claim You Won Something
Fake promotional scams are everywhere. Most of them try to lure you in with a “congratulations!” and fake news that you’re a winner in a sweepstakes and just need to “click here” to retrieve your prize. These emails are never real, unfortunately.
Calendar Invites
You didn’t ask for that calendar invitation, yet here it is. This type of invite, along with subscriptions you didn’t ask for, are common scams. You can delete these and report them as junk in iCloud.
Download Requests
At no point when you are browsing should a pop-up appear and demand that you download software to be able to use your computer virus-free, or some similar threat. It makes sense to want to do whatever it takes to make your phone safe and secure, but these download requests are always a scam.
To keep your phone as safe as possible, never call back unfamiliar phone numbers that leave you voice message. Don’t click on links in emails unless you are 100 percent sure you know the sender. Never give out personal information, like banking info or your social security number, to anyone claiming to call from a company or Apple. Report scam phone calls to the Federal Trade Commission (U.S. only) at reportfraud.ftc.gov or to your local law enforcement agency, according to Apple.
