'Apple' id scam?

[andyoxon]

I received this email... addressed to an unknown person, in my inbox for this email address of mine.

All I've done about this is manually enter the apple.com URL,  log into my dormant Apple account and changed password.  Anything else to do?  I assume someone has my email, but what could they be trying to do with it.  The URL in the email seemed  to be pointing at the real apple website, from the URL displayed at the bottom of the browser.

My apple account has no payment method registered.

applescam by a oxon, on Flickr

and this...

Dear [me],

You have purchased Piggy Bank 5 on 1 January 2024 and acknowledged that if you download or use this in-App Purchase within fourteen days of buying it, you will no longer be eligible to cancel this purchase.

Regards,

App Store

[Lightning Phil]

Has it got a tracking pixel embedded?

[ian]

I've never seen Apple put a link in an email (other than to support or other pages). You can see your purchase history in your Apple account anyway.

[andyoxon]

Has it got a tracking pixel embedded?

How does one tell?

[ian]

If there's nothing in your Apple purchase history and you've changed your password, I'd delete the email and move on, phishy crap like that is normal.

[andyoxon]

yes, fair enough.

[Jaded]

Has it got a tracking pixel embedded?

How does one tell?

You have to look at the source.

However the way to deal with these things is to not download images in emails unless you say so. Most email clients have a setting for this.

[fruitcake]

Looks like phishing to me. I bet that link does not take you where you'd expect it to. (Do not click through though.) The sender's email address may be dodgy too (the domain may be a couple of characters different than what you'd expect).

Apple is inviting users to report suspected phishing messages: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102568

[rafletcher]

"Purchase originated from China mainland..". Poor English, phishing.

[grams]

“China mainland” is a squishy term used by Apple themselves:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208538

[rafletcher]

“China mainland” is a squishy term used by Apple themselves:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208538

You live and learn.

[mrcharly-YHT]

"Purchase originated from China mainland..". Poor English, phishing.

Remember that Taiwan is also China.

[ian]

It's terminology you must use if you want to do business in China and absolutely must use if you want to do business with the government of China. There's a bit of geopolitical tip-toeing that has been done whenever there's a mention of Taiwan.


As for the email, don't waste time on these things, if you didn't buy what they claim, it's just phishing or spam.