A tech expert is warning his followers to be on the lookout for the latest Apple email scam. Here’s how to avoid getting hacked.
TikTok user Scott Polderman (@scottpolderman) posted a video titled “Warning: Watch Out For This Email” on Dec. 15.
“The reason this is working so good for hackers is because they catch you unexpectedly,” he says to start the video. “And, unfortunately, it’s really working well with those who are less tech-savvy.”
The video then transitions to a screenshot of an iCloud inbox. All the emails are redacted except for one that was purportedly sent to Polderman by “Apple Account.” Polderman says, “And when you open this email, you can see here that it once again has the Apple logo.”
What does the new Apple email scam email say?
Polderman continues scrolling through the email. “It’s talking about know how to reset your password, keep your contact information up to date, set up a recovery contact, and—this is terrible—set up a legacy contact,” he says.
What is a legacy contact? “That means that in the event that you pass, who’s going to take over the account,” Polderman says.
What’s most concerning about the email, Polderman says, is that the fine print is “basically verbatim what you would see on the Apple website. So make sure and not click on any of the links in this email.”
How can you tell if an email came from Apple?
Polderman notes that if he clicks on the sender’s contact information, it shows that the email doesn’t come from Apple. “It shows me once again that this is not from apple.com,” Polderman says. “That it’s appleaccount@insideapple dot and a bunch of other things.”
Therefore, he says, “This is a huge red flag that this is once again fake. And, remember: Apple has said that they will never send an email asking for any account information, any type of passwords, or sensitive data. So as soon as you see this, it should be an instant delete.”
A user posted to the Apple discussion forum about this email in 2018. In the thread, several users confirmed the email was not from Apple and was a phishing attempt.
A Reddit user posted about receiving an email from the same address three years ago. In the last couple of weeks, users revived the discussion. Eight days ago, one user wrote, “Crazy after two years and still no clear answers on what this email is. I just got one yesterday.”
Another user said, “Just got this email in my gmail a few hours ago. It’s a scam. I’m an Android user and permanently deleted my only Apple account three years ago when I gave the SE a shot (battery sucked). But be careful it’s phishing.”
A Quora user addressed the issue thusly. “On the surface, it looks like it could be — the ‘insideapple.apple.com’ is a legitimate subdomain of Apple.com,” they wrote. “However, the key thing to always remember about email addresses is that they are absolutely trivial to spoof on the surface.”
Email spoofing is a form of phishing in which scammers manipulate email headers to make you think the email came from a legitimate source.
@scottpolderman Warning, watch out for this email from hackers. #iphonetips #iphonetricks #iphone #hacker ♬ original sound – Scott Polderman
Viewers weigh in on the warning
At the end of the day, it appears the address is not legitimate and may well be a phishing attempt. Most users advise simply deleting suspicious emails, especially if you weren’t expecting an email from Apple Support.
In the comments of Polderman’s video, it appears that is what many users decided to do.
One wrote, “I was sent this email. I deleted it because Apple wouldn’t send such an email.”
A second viewer agreed. They wrote, “Got this email on Monday. Glad I didn’t mess with it.”
A third viewer wrote, “Got one that says my Paramount + subscription has been cancelled. I don’t have one. Y’all stay safe. They are getting desperate.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Polderman via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. It contacted Apple via email for comment.
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