Scams aren’t what they used to be. The obvious ones — bad spelling, a long-lost prince, a dodgy link — are easy to laugh off. But the ones landing in inboxes and phones now are polished, convincing, and designed to catch you in a busy moment. They copy real logos, spoof real phone numbers, and lean hard on one thing: making you panic and act before you think.
Nearly everyone we talk to has had a close call. Falling for one doesn’t make you careless — it makes you human. Here’s how to spot them, and what to do if one gets you.
The ones we see most around here
Because so much of life runs through an Apple Account these days, a lot of scams dress up as Apple:
- “Your Apple ID has been locked.” A text or email with a link to “verify” your account. The link goes to a fake Apple page that quietly harvests your login.
- “You were charged $99.99 — tap here to cancel.” A fake receipt for something you didn’t buy, banking on you clicking in a hurry to stop the charge.
- A call from “Apple Support” saying your iCloud has been hacked, and they need your password or a verification code to fix it.
- “Pay us in gift cards.” Any story that ends with you buying Apple gift cards and reading out the numbers is a scam, every single time.
The warning signs
Australia’s national scam service, Scamwatch, lists the tell-tale signs of a phishing scam. If a message ticks any of these boxes, slow right down:
⚠️ Signs it might be a scam
It claims to be from a business you deal with, but arrives out of the blue.
It pushes you to act urgently — a threat, a deadline, an account “about to be closed”.
It greets you generically (“Dear Customer”) instead of by your name.
The sender’s address doesn’t quite match the real organisation.
A link looks almost right, with a small spelling change or an odd ending.
Urgency is the common thread. A genuine business is happy for you to hang up, take your time and call them back. A scammer needs you rattled and rushing — that pressure is the red flag.
How to protect yourself
Scamwatch’s advice is refreshingly simple, and it comes down to three habits:
- Never hand over secrets to someone who contacted you. No passwords, card numbers, or one-time verification codes — no matter who they claim to be. A real organisation won’t ask.
- Don’t click the link or open the attachment. Go to the organisation yourself — type their web address, or open their official app — rather than following a link you were sent.
- Verify independently. If in doubt, contact the business using the number on their official website or the back of your card. Not the number in the message.
A quick trick that works surprisingly often: copy a line of the suspicious message into a search engine along with the word scam. If it’s a known one, you’ll usually find out in seconds.
What Apple will never do
Genuine Apple will never
Phone you out of the blue to say your account has been hacked.
Ask for your password or a two-factor verification code.
Ask you to pay for anything with gift cards.
Send you to a login page through a link in a text message.
If any of those happens, it isn’t Apple. Hang up, delete the message, and if you genuinely want to check your account, open Settings on your device or go to appleid.apple.com yourself.
If you think you’ve been caught
First, don’t beat yourself up — act quickly instead. The faster you move, the more you can limit:
- Contact your bank straight away if any card or payment details were involved — they can stop transactions.
- Change your passwords, starting with your Apple Account and email, and check your two-factor authentication is still set to your own devices.
- Report it to Scamwatch, which helps warn others.
- Get free help from IDCARE on 1800 595 160 — Australia’s identity and cyber support service — if your personal details were exposed.
Not sure? Ask us before you act
If a message or call has you second-guessing, bring your phone, iPad or Mac in to us in Coorparoo, or give us a ring, before you tap anything. We’ll take a look, tell you honestly whether it’s genuine, and if something has already gone wrong we’ll help you lock your Apple Account back down. As an Apple Authorised Service Provider, we sort this out for people all the time — there’s no such thing as a silly question, and we’d far rather you asked.
Get in touch or drop past the shop. A thirty-second check with us beats a very bad week.