When a member received an email from ‘Apple’ claiming she’d been selected to test a brand new iPhone X, she rightly questioned it…
Member Polly Blacksmith told us:
‘I’ve received an email claiming I’d been selected from many profiles to test a brand new iPhone X. The email has the Apple logo at the top, and the branding all looks familiar.
‘It suggested that all testers would be able to keep the phones, but the number of testers is limited.
‘Surely this is too good to be true?’
Our say on unsolicited emails
Any unsolicited email offering you a free smartphone is likely to be too good to be true. It’s very rare for any company to give away their latest tech at random.
We’ve had several of these emails forwarded to us since the announcement of Apple’s latest iPhones.
We’ve also been alerted about similar scams appearing in text messages and pop-up online adverts.
If you were to click the link, you’d be asked to enter some personal details, before being ‘accepted’ to test the phone and asked to pay a small shipping charge.
It’s likely the scammers behind these emails will sell on your personal details, and use any card details you submit to steal your money.
Forward this email, and any other phishing attempts claiming to be from Apple, to reportphishing@apple.com.
A major giveaway is the sender’s email address. Any email that doesn’t arrive from the apple.com domain should arouse your suspicions.
If you’re in doubt about the authenticity of a message, chat to Apple’s experts via its live webchat or on Twitter.
Apple’s advice on avoiding phishing emails and other scams on its support page is useful, too.
Have you been sent this or a similar email? What happened?