Identifying Phishing Scams in text messages

TiredOfDishonestApple wrote:

This is the text message I received yesterday from 1-8******6:

Your Apple ID was used to make a $155.90 purchase at the Apple Store via Apple Pay . If you didn't authorize this, call Apple Support at  (88******43

Oh, wow, I think you get the daily prize for posting the highest bogus "bill" from this particular phishing spam campaign. 🤪😉

This is one of many common scams.

Here are some few of the many scams: Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing ...

The "pervert" sextortion spam scam is another and recently popular scam — no, they don't have the videos and images they claim to have — and that scam is discussed around here, and elsewhere on the 'net.

My daughter got the exact same message, amounts and all. This is obviously a phishing attempt. Do not call them. Rather, scroll down to the bottom of the message and click: "report junk," and then click on "Delete and Report Junk" so these criminal can be stopped in their tracks.

the1stdm wrote:

There is nothing personal in the original post. Those numbers are from the scammer not mine.

The reason they are redacted is that Google will scrape web pages and the next thing you know you would have a Gemini AI result on the top of a search request telling you to call the number if you received that message. Unfortunately it happens with Tech Support scams where fraudulent numbers are posted in search results and users have fallen victim to those. Google does not take any responsibility for the search results.

For any message/email, the recommendation is to NEVER call any provided number or even click a link and enter personal information. Apple does not sent those SMS messages like that to you and if you ever have any Apple related concern and want to call, then your would use their official Support Page here:

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support

I got the 2nd one today. The first one freaked me out and I ended up calling them and giving them way too much information. I had to completely change all of my banking. It took months to fix. Be diligent and report them to the FCC or any organization that can hurt them back!

HHIKAR wrote:

I just received this exact text. 3/19/2025

Sadly, this really isn’t newsworthy. It’s possible that a million users got the same message from the same criminals. Just delete the message.

Dskay211 wrote:

I just received a text saying:

1350 Notification : A charges of 350.49 was made using your ID at Apple Store Through Apple Pay. Contact 1(8**) **5-***7 now if you didn't authorize it.

I assumed it was a scam but found nothing on Snopes so I came here. I’m so glad all of you have posted your experiences.

[Edited by Moderator]

Hello~ Yes…it’s a scam. I treat all texts of this nature as a scam. Scammers just doing what scammers do…

~Katana-San~

MrHoffman wrote:

And yes, some people will either find the number here, or will find it in the AI slop, and will call it.

For years, the phone companies told people to only use (555) area code numbers in songs and other fictional works. Why? (555) is reserved for the phone companies themselves, and there are few numbers in it. Call up with nonsense or abuse, and you are "only" harassing the phone company, not its customers. If you even ring a phone at all.

One rock band ignored this advice and included a regular seven-digit number (no area code) in a song about a fictional woman named "Jenny" whose name and number was "on the wall". If you've ever heard this song, the number is virtually impossible to forget. The band "helpfully" repeated the number over and over, ad nauseam.

The result was a flood of obscene phone calls to real people who had that number, in one area code or another. Obscene phone calls placed by idiots who did not know or care about the difference between fiction and reality.

Hepzi wrote:

Please please make it easier to get Apple support for fraudulent activity!! It is an amazing baffle to get support at all thru Apple. And if Apple wants to stay in quasi banking business, you really need to up your game on fraudulent activity support. Amazing naivety and stupidity on Apples part….

Apple can’t do anything to stop phishing scams. Neither can Google, AOL, Yahoo, CenturyLink or any other email and text service. At last count, 60% of ALL email is scams of some kind, and text scams are getting up there.

One thing you can do is go to Settings/Apps/Messages/Unknown & Spam and turn on Filter Unknown Senders.

You can also add a 3rd party scam filter such as NoMoRobo or NumberShield.

What Apple can do is tell you how to recognize scams→Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams

Another great source is AARP’s Fraud Watch Network: https://aarp.org/fwn, which is available to anyone whether an AARP member or not.

Hepzi wrote:

Please please make it easier to get Apple support for fraudulent activity!! It is an amazing baffle to get support at all thru Apple. And if Apple wants to stay in quasi banking business, you really need to up your game on fraudulent activity support. Amazing naivety and stupidity on Apples part….

Anybody that claims to offer scam-prevention services is quite possibly scamming you, and anybody claiming to help you recover money lost in a previous scam is likely scamming you.

And if you did get scammed, ~nobody will offer a refund, as that would result in fake scams scamming for refunds.

As mentioned, silence unknown texts, and/or use an app such as Bouncer to reduce the chatter.

Sending telephone numbers, sending text numbers, and sending email addresses can all be faked, too. This arising from the same reason why blocking scam-related numbers and services that claim to block those numbers doesn’t work.

If you can figure out a why how to reduce these scams, do let everybody know.

And no, licenses and submitting identify proof won’t work, and will backfire. It results in zillions of systems with sensitive info everywhere; a phisher’s dream situation. Yes, it’s been tried.

I got the same as well and I did not click on anything. It came from email address: ro*******ie@hotmail.com

_____________________

Apple Approval Notice

We have noticed that your Apple iCloud id was recently used at "APPLE STORE - CA" for $143.95, paid by Apple Pay Pre Authorization. Also some suspicious sign in request and apple pay activation request detected. That looks like suspicious to us. In order to maintain the security and privacy of your account we have placed those request on hold. Your Photos, Data, Bank Information and Cards are at risk. If NOT you? talk to an Apple Representative. Failing may lead to auto debit and charge will not be reversed. Call +1 8********7 immediately to cancel this charge.

Billing Department:Subscriptions and Billing - Official Apple Support

Have a great day!

[Edited by Moderator]

Hello~ Posting the scammers credentials here only perpetuates their scam. Delete it and move on. Click on below…

Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

~Katana-San~

Kriistiina89 wrote:

Has anyone else got these before? Please HELP!!!!!!!

Have others received this? Yes. This is a common scam.

Welcome to the ever-increasing group of people —there are ~thirteen pages of people here in this thread — that have received this same scam message.

Here, the scammers are lying, By lying, I mean, they’re straight up lying to you, lying to get the exact reaction you had, lying to get your money, lying to get you concerned, and, well, lying.

In short, scam.

Ignore it.

Maybe mute all unknown message senders if you want, so they don’t distrust your day.

Here are a very few of the many other common scams: Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

And “grate day”? 😜

I got the SAME msg but mine mentions the charge being made on California (I think the CA is California and not Canada 😁). Even with all the scams I always jump a little when I see these things. So invasive

[Edited by Moderator]

I got the exact same message. Freaked me out b/c I actually did make a purchase in the Apple Store yesterday.

I suspect that was just coincidental, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious.