Phishing scam targets Apple iCloud users

With Apple Inc. ramping up its cloud-based services, cybercriminals are taking another stab at stealing the online credentials of its members. Computer security firm Trend Micro said the latest attempt has the perpetrators trying to fool victims into giving their usernames and passwords via spoofed Apple emails and web pages. “Always be wary of the littlest details in your email that may strike you as suspicious. Check and double check embedded URLs, delete spammed messages, and never underestimate the endless possibilities of cybercrime," Trend Micro said in a blog post. “It may only be as simple as a spammed message, but the outcome isn’t any different from your typical infostealing malware today that need to install themselves into systems. Furthermore, with the Apple’s market steadily growing, cybercriminals may now be more interested in these Apple accounts and the stolen credentials may be sold underground to other crooks for a good price," it added. It said that in the latest case, victims may receive a supposed email from Apple claiming there was a change in account information. The resemblance between the fake email and a real email from Apple was “uncanny," it said. But the smaller details in the fake email indicated it was sent by do_not_reply@itunes.com via smtp.com, which means that Gmail detected that the email might have used a third-party email service. Clicking the link in the email that supposedly signs in to a victim’s Apple ID leads to a site “that tries to mirror the legitimate Apple site." “Only the glaring difference was that this one had advertisements at the bottom of the page," Trend Micro said. An investigation showed the “Apple" site was indeed a phishing page hosted on a free hosting site, and tells users to input their Apple IDs and passwords while the information is later on sent to the phishers. “This simple spammed message shows how easy it is to stage attacks nowadays- with minimum investment and considerable returns, phishers now have access to users’ App store info which includes users’ credit card information, home addresses, and phone numbers. You don’t even have to pay to host your server," Trend Micro said. It also noted phishing attacks like this do not need a lot of storage as it only stores the Apple credentials and is limited only to Apple users. — TJD, GMA News