Today’s scam of the day again comes from my own email although I am sure that many of you have received it as well.  The email I received purports to come from Apple and has the heading: “Apple Account Queued for Deactivation.”  Here is how it appears:

“Dear User,

Our systems detected a change in your account. We strongly advise you to verify your billing to avoid suspension or deactivation

Click here to proceed

Your account safety is our top priority.

Thanks for your co-operation.

Sincerely,
Apple Support”

This is an obvious phishing scam intended to scare the person receiving the email into clicking on the link provided in order to correct the problem with the account.  However, if you do click on the link, all you will end up doing is either being taken to another page where you will be asked to provide personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft or by merely clicking on the link, you will unwittingly download keystroke logging malware that will steal the data from your computer and use it to make you a victim of identity theft.  This particular phishing email is easy to spot as a scam.  The email itself does not include any logo indicating it is from Apple and it is addressed to “Dear User” rather than being addressed to the email recipient by name.

TIPS

Remember my manta, “trust me, you can’t trust anyone.”  Never click on any link in an email or text message regardless of how legitimate it may appear unless you have absolutely confirmed that it is indeed legitimate.  It is a simple matter to call Apple at a telephone number that you know is accurate to determine whether any email you receive purportedly from them is legitimate.  In this case, a simple call would have convinced you that it was a scam.