Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves attempt to lure you into either clicking on links contained within the email which download malware or  trick you into providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft, are nothing new.   They are a staple of identity thieves and scammers and with good reason because they work.

Reproduced below is a copy of an Apple phishing email that uses the common ploy of indicating that there is a security problem that requires you to verify personal information for security purposes.   There are a number of telltale flaws in this particular   Although the email address from which it was sent appears to be legitimate, upon closer examination you can determine it is not an official email address of Apple.  Also, although the email is quite short, it contains numerous grammatical errors.  In addition, the salutation reads “Dears” rather than “Dear” and the email concludes with “Worm regards” rather than “Warm regards.”   Most telling, the email is not directed to you by name and does not contain your account number in the email.  It is important to remember that merely because the email contains an Apple logo, which is not reproduced below, the exact logo of Apple does not mean that the communication is legitimate.  It is easy to obtain a copy of the logo on the Internet.

“Dears,
Your AppIe id was used in from an unauthorized computer.
As the new protection policy has been followed, we have no choice but to put your id on hold.We advise you to update your id soon to avoid permanent account closing.                                                                                     your code is 4M7801DLLA16A                                                                                       Update Now >
Wondering why you got this email?
It’s sent when someone adds or changes a contact email address for an AppIe ID . If you didn’t do this, don’t worry. Your email address cannot be used as a contact address for an AppIe ID without your verification.
Worm Regards,
AppIe Team”

TIPS

Obviously if you do not have an account with Apple you know that this is a phishing scam, but even if you do have an account with Apple, as I indicated above there are a number of indications that this is not a legitimate email from Apple, but instead is a phishing email. Legitimate companies would refer to your specific account number in the email.  They also would specifically direct the email to you by your name.  This email’s salutation is a generic “Dears” without an “s” that should not be there.