phishing

In an online world filled with identity thieves, robocallers, “smishers” (SMS phishing scammers) and all sorts of marketers hassling you for your personal information whenever you sign up for anything, wouldn’t it be great if you could protect your personal information by becoming someone else with a different phone number? With Surfshark’s Alternative ID service, you can now access a new Alternative Number feature that does just that.

Alternative Number is incredibly easy to use — and highly effective at keeping your real phone number safe from spammers and scammers. All you need to do is sign up for a Surfshark bundle that includes Alternative Number. You can pay monthly, but Surfshark also offers 24-month plans that give you four extra months of service for free.

Apple’s macOS is more secure than other operating systems like Windows. But an increasing number of phishing and malware attacks now target Mac users.

And, no matter how secure macOS is, it does not make Mac users immune from the danger of phishing. The success of such attacks often depends on the vigilance of the user.

The Fraudulent Website Warning system built into Safari in the upcoming iOS 14.5 reportedly takes an additional step to protect your identity. Apple licenses the scam-prevention service from Google, and going forward will block that company from knowing users’ IP addresses through the use of a proxy server.

The Federal Trade Commission is warning people that scammers are posing as Apple customer support workers in an attempt to defraud them. The agency shared a couple of recorded messages (which you can listen to here) that sound quasi-legitimate but are, in fact, trying to steal personal information.

In one message, the caller says they have detected suspicious activity in the recipient’s iCloud account. They suggest that the account has been breached and, to secure it, the person should speak to an Apple customer service representative. They then give the option to connect to such a person on the phone.

This Mac security post is presented by Intego.

Macs have a reputation for being less vulnerable than PCs to online threats like malware and viruses, but your machine is certainly not invulnerable. Far from it, actually. It can pay to invest in a suite of security apps like those in Intego Mac Premium Bundle X9 to protect your Mac from a variety of online threats.

Apple has the dubious distinction of being the most imitated brand globally used in attempted phishing attacks, claims a new report.

Check Point Research’s latest Brand Phishing Report covers the first quarter of 2020. It shows that Apple was the top target for web-based phishing attacks and the second for mobile-based attacks for the first three months of the year.

Scrolling through your Instagram feed in the middle of the night just got a lot easier on the eyes.

Instagram introduced support for iOS 13’s Dark Mode this week along with some new security tools that help people identify phishing attempts from emails that appear to be from Instagram.

Everyone needs to watch out for hackers phishing for their account details, and that includes celebrities. A Georgia man tricked pro athletes and rappers into giving up login details for their Apple accounts, which he used to access to their credit cards, according to the FBI.

A judge sentenced a former high school teacher to 34 months in prison Friday after the man pleaded guilty to his role in the “Celebgate” hack of iCloud and other accounts.

Of those convicted for the high-profile hack, Christopher Brannan, 31, received the harshest sentence for breaching accounts. The attack led to the circulation of nude photos and videos of model Kate Upton, actress Jennifer Lawrence and others.

If your iPhone is ever lost or stolen, be extra careful about scammers attempting trick your Apple ID password from you. iPhone thieves reportedly have an elaborate system set up to scam this information, as it’s needed to make a stolen device much more valuable.

Apple has issued an apology after a number of customers in China had their Apple ID stolen and used by thieves to take money from paired mobile payment services.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Apple said that it is, “deeply apologetic about the inconvenience caused to our customers by these phishing scams.” It noted that this incident affected a “small number” of users.

The latest phishing scam targets iCloud users, trying to scare them into installing malicious software on their iOS devices.

Some users have received emails recently that push them to fake Apple Support websites. Once there, the sites prompt them to call “Apple Care” because their devices are supposedly “locked for illegal activity.” Here’s how to avoid the scam.

Windows Defender, which protects Windows 10 PCs from malware, can now keep your Mac safe from inside Google Chrome.

Microsoft has turned its antivirus app into a Chrome extension that promises to detect phishing links in your emails and dodgy sites that distribute malicious software. It’s 99 percent effective, according to Microsoft, which makes Windows Defender better than rival browser protections.

A third man has plead guilty to hacking 550 iCloud and Google Gmail accounts, including those belonging to 40 celebrities — resulting in the leaking of sensitive photos and videos.

Chicago resident Emilio Herrera participated in the phishing scam between April 2013 and August 2014, which involved sending out alerts that appeared to have come from Apple, Yahoo, and Hotmail, requesting username and password information.

It’s not uncommon to see a random popup that asks you to “Sign In to iTunes Store” on iOS. They sometimes appear unexpectedly, but they’re usually genuine. However, one developer is warning users not to enter their password when the popup appears in third-party apps.

There is a chance that the app’s developer is phishing for your Apple ID password. Luckily, there’s an easy trick to distinguish legit popups from phishing attempts.

Google has updated its Gmail app for iOS to introduce anti-phishing security checks. The app automatically detects suspicious links in your emails, then warns you that they might be dangerous when you tap them.

Got a call from “Apple Support” to say your iCloud account was hacked? Hang up and ignore it.

Phone scammers are calling unsuspecting iPhone and iPad users and trying to trick them into handing over their iCloud account details. Once they have them, they can purchase whatever they want, and it’s you who foots the bill.

iPhone owners in the U.K. have complained about being targeted with a phishing scam trying to trick them into revealing personal information by claiming that there is a problem with their iCloud account.

The scam message appears to come from an official Apple account called “iSupport,” and says that specific iCloud accounts have been deactivated and that users should head to an external website to confirm their user details and “reactivate [their] account.”

Almost 19 months after the mass leaking of naked celeb photos known as “The Fappening,” a man has been arrested for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — and faces up to five years in prison as a result.

If you use Google’s Chrome web browser, you’re now even safer from sneaky advertisers that try to get you to download their crummy software with fake download buttons.

Chances are you’ve seen these around, even on some large sites like Sourceforge and CNET, and might have clicked on one or two by accident, as intended.

Google’s new addition to its Safe Browsing initiative will block sites that have these deceptive download buttons on them.

Recent reports of iCloud phishing attempts in China illustrate just how important it is always verify that you’re logging into legitimate websites before you enter your precious passwords.

To help, Apple today outlined how users can protect themselves from phishing attacks, in which bad guys pose as legitimate entities in an attempt to gain sensitive data on the web. Apple’s simple PSA page shows how web surfers can verify the authenticity of any website.

ESET Cyber Security Pro fortifies your Mac’s built-in defenses, protecting against Mac and Windows-based threats, hackers and other attacks all while shielding your kids from inappropriate web content.

And now you can get one year of ESET Cyber Security Pro for $29 – 51% off the regular price!

Sick of getting spam in your iCloud email? You’re not the only one. Apple’s sick of it too, and they’re making a hiring push to get spam and abuse under control in the iCloud.

There’s always some scumbag who is willing to try to take advantage of a bad situation. Take Apple’s prolonged outage of the Apple Developer Center, for example. It’s a bad situation for everyone — Apple and developers alike — which is why, of course, someone’s now launched a phishing attack to try to trick people into thinking the Developer Center is back up.

Hackers want your web logins, especially ones that have sensitive banking info, like your Apple ID. A fresh round of phishing attacks that ask for Apple IDs and passwords has surfaced.

“Phishers appear to have concentrated their fire on a relatively new target: Apple IDs,” according to Trend Micro. “In recent days, we’ve seen a spike in phishing sites that try to steal Apple IDs.”