Account disabled please update

That is a paraphrase of the latest phishing email to target Apple users. This phishing email is simple. There is no greeting, just the words “Account access Limited” in large type. The heading dominates the email. Even the sub heading “your account is opened in another location” is dwarfed. The implication is your Apple account is disabled. To enable it you will need to update/verify your information. All solved by clicking on a link (the only link in the email). Don’t click on the link. This email is a fake. It does not originate from Apple. The link is to a phishing site that will steal your personal details if you attempt to login. Delete this email.

We have reproduced the email in Figure A. It is a plain phishing email. No Apple logos or branding are used. The sender of the email is “iTunes Support”. The email domain is not an Apple domain. It does use the word “support” in the domain name. This is to trick people. The subject line of the email is “your account is opened in another location”. There is one link in the email. The link is to the button with the text “Get Started”. A standard footer is attached to the email. The body of the email consists of one sentence.

As the email says, your account has been opened in another location. The implication is fraudulent use of your account. The email’s intention is to prey on people’s fears of being hacked and/or defrauded. People may click on the link without digging into the email. Digging into the email shows it to be fraudulent.

There are a few signs this email is not a legitimate email. The greeting is non-existent. Not even a generic greeting. Apple uses the name of the account holder in their email greetings. Another sign is the poor punctuation. A final sign is the link. It does not lead to the legitimate Apple site. It leads to a phishing site.

Scott Reeves
MailShark
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