We want to take the time to provide you with an update on the latest iPhone Scams that are unfolding on the internet. We received a few postings on our forum as well as emails from some of our readers around issues that have impacted their Safari experience. Some of these scams have been out there for sometime while there are a few that have picked up more activity in the last few months. The scams that have become more active recently are the a) iphone 7 Scam and b) Syrian Refugee crisis scam.
We will cover some of these issues by providing you the best information available on the net.
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Test the upcoming iPhone 7 and get a free iPhone 6 at the same time!
With all the rumours around the specifications of the new iPhone 7 device, it was only a matter of time that the scammers set up their omnipresent traps.
If you received this message via email or a pop-up screen on your browser, you are not alone. This is the latest scam in circulation for the past few months.
Better Business Bureau says that if it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. Scammers are using Apple’s popularity to phish for credit card information. Please note that Apple has tremendous amount of resources to do their own testing and will hardly post an add online to solicit testers! Do yourself a favour. Next time you see an email with “Free anything Offer”, please delete the email.
My iphone has been locked by FBI. They want money to unlock it.
Trust us when we say tha the FBI has a lot of important things to do than locking your iphone in the middle of the night. The browser message will request you to either call a number and or send money in order for them to unlock it. Please do not respond to these scammers! We posted an article earlier in the month to help you in dealing with these “Iphone Crash type Messages”. Please check it out.
One particular post in Apple support does a great job in showing some of the pictures of these scams. Please click on Apple’s link to read about this so that you are aware of these phony messages.
When you face these kind of browser hijack pop-ups, Please go to your Settings for Safari and A) Clear History B) Clear Cookies and Data and lastly Clear Cache. It is the same process for your iPad as well.
Please send money to Support Syrian Refugees.
It is tragic to see these scammers take advantage during crisis that impacts humanity and human spirit in general. Every time, there is an international or national crisis, scammers quickly scour the internet for the most depressing images and then send you an email requesting you to show your support and send money. This has become common with the Syrian crisis. Please do not fall for these scams and only send your money to a recognized organization with a authentic website.
Ah Those Awful Surveys promising you goodies!
This scam is a classic one where you fill in surveys for companies in exchange of free goods and other promises. Please be careful and follow this careful tips from BBB. If you notice any of these scams , you can go to the Better Business Bureu site and report them.
Use WhoIs to look up the website. Right click on the link and select “Copy Link Address.” Then, paste this destination URL into the WhoIs.net directory. This directory will tell you when and to whom a domain is registered. If the URL is brand new, or if the ownership is masked by a proxy service, consider it a big warning sign of a scam.
Watch out for look-alike URLs. Scammers pick URLs that look similar to those of legitimate sites. Be wary of sites that have the brand name as a subdomain of another URL (i.e. brandname.scamwebsite.com), part of a longer URL (i.e.companynamebooking.com) or use an unconventional top level domain (the TLD is the part of the name after the dot).
Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there’s a link to their privacy policy.
Watch out for a reward that’s too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses give away gifts worth hundreds of dollars just for answering.
Please do not send your iphone to strangers in order to get it jail-broken. We strongly recommend against jail-breaking, but if you had to go that route it is very simple to do it and you can do it yourself as opposed to sending your phone to a stranger.
Lastly, if you decide on buying an used iphone or ipad, please source it from a reputable seller. You do not want to get stuck with a water damaged iphone or a phone that does not work since it was stolen and has not been reset. Scams like this are pretty prevalent on Craigslist and other sites.
Please be careful & surf safe!