Apple phone phishing scams are getting better at aping real support calls

As users get wiser to phishing scams, scammers are upping their game too and producing cons that are ever more complex. A new genuine-looking Apple Support scam now appears to be doing the rounds and there are reasons to be worried. As reported by security expert Brian Krebs, what happens is you get an automated call that appears to come from Apple itself. Everything from the logo, the address, and the phone number all appear to check out. The call warns about a data breach at the company and then asks users to get in touch using a different number. This, the scammers claim, is to protect the user Apple IDs before doing anything else. [caption id=“attachment_5843741” align=“alignnone” width=“750”] A screenshot of the spoofed Apple support number. Image: Brian Krebs/ Krebs On Security[/caption] When the scammer’s phone number is called, it reaches what seems to be a foreign call center. Krebs tried ringing it and was put on hold for a minute and a half before being disconnected. It isn’t clear exactly what the scam is supposed to be, but given the fact that Apple’s own devices or AT&T, the network provider, which sold her the phone can’t tell the difference between a call from Apple and someone trying to spoof Apple, is alarmingly scary. Krebs in a blog post writes, “The exploit is unique because it allows callers to masquerade as other callers essentially by polluting search results with junk information that makes one number look like the contact number for a real company.” While there are certain fields which are usual giveaways in a phishing scam call, this one scam seems particularly sophisticated. Apple, meanwhile, is yet to comment on the report, but the tech giant does offer advice on how to deal with different scams, including phone calls on its website. “If you get an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Apple, hang up and contact us directly,” the company says.