‘Your Apple iCloud ID Expires Today’ SMS Scam
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
The claim
SMS purporting to be from iCloud claims that your Apple iCloud ID expires today and you should therefore follow a link in the message to confirm details and prevent account termination.
[Name] Your Apple iCloud ID expires today. To prevent termination confirm
your details at [Web address] – iCloud
Support
What the fact-checkers found
The SMS is not from iCloud support as claimed. It is a phishing scam designed to steal your Apple ID login credentials as well as your credit card numbers and other sensitive personal information.
According to this SMS, which purports to be from iCloud Support, your Apple iCloud ID expires today. The message claims that, to prevent termination of your Apple ID, you must follow a link and confirm your details.
However, the SMS is not from ‘iCloud Support’ or anybody else at Apple. And, the claim that your Apple ID is set to expire is untrue. In fact, the SMS is a phishing scam designed to steal your Apple ID and password, your credit card details, and other personal information.
If you click the link in the message, you will be taken to a fake Apple website and asked to login with your Apple ID and password. The fake page has been built to closely mirror the appearance of the genuine Apple website. After ‘logging in’ on the fake site, a popup message will appear that claims that your Apple account has been locked for security reasons.
If you then click the ‘Unlock’ link, you will be taken to another fake page that asks you to confirm your account by providing your credit card numbers and your name, address, and contact details. It may also collect other sensitive information by tricking you into answering supposed account security questions.
Alas, all of the information you supply on the fake site can be collected by criminals and used to hijack your Apple account and commit credit card fraud and identity theft.
The web address contained in the SMS may vary in different versions of the scam.
Apple account phishing scams are very common and are regularly distributed via email as well as via SMS. In fact, criminals are increasingly using SMS as a means of contacting potential victims. If you receive one of these messages, do not follow any links that it contains.
The Apple website includes information about phishing scams and how to report them.
Got a similar message?
Paste it into the detector and see whether it matches a known hoax.
Check a similar messageRelated fact-checks
Browse the archive →‘Apple & iCloud ID Cancellation’ Phishing Scam
According to this email, your Apple ID is about to be removed from iCloud and all Apple services. The message claims that Apple needs to ‘fully verify’ your Apple ID to ‘comply with mandatory European Union (EU) legislation and to confirm your identity’.
Phishing Scam – ‘Final E-mail Before Apple ID Suspended’
According to this email, which purports to be from Apple Support, your Apple ID and iCloud are set to be suspended because you did not complete a verification on time. Supposedly, the company sent a previous verification email but did not receive a response.
PHISHING SCAM – ‘Request to Terminate Microsoft Account’
The email is not from Microsoft. It is a phishing scam designed to steal your Microsoft Account login details. Clicking the ‘cancel request’ link opens a fake login box designed to look like a genuine Microsoft login page.
Apple Customers Being Targeted in “iCloud Mail”; Phishing Scam
Apple customers are being targeted in yet another phishing scam. Bogus “Welcome to iCloud” scam emails are currently hitting inboxes.