MacDailyNews readers are reporting a new rash of MobileMe phishing attempts recently.
Phishing, the name for fraudulent attempts to obtain credit card numbers, passwords, social security numbers and other sensitive information, isn’t an issue exclusive to MobileMe. Still, it’s as relevant to MobileMe subscribers as anyone else, and warnings about it bear repeating from time to time.
There are thieves in the world who work hard at creating emails that appear to come from legitimate companies, frequently even including links that go to real pages on those companies’ web sites. But at least one of the links will lead to a site that looks like it belongs to the company, but is in fact a fake which asks readers to enter personal information such as their address, phone number, credit card number, or other information the thieves can use to steal from the unwary.
You will never receive an unsolicited message from Apple’s MobileMe asking you to send personal information via email. If Apple is ever unable to charge your credit card, for instance, the company will send you a reminder email, but will not directly link to any web pages. The safest way to respond and update any necessary information is to type www.me.com into your browser and log in to your account directly. That way you can be confident you are at me.com and your personal information is secure.
For more detailed information about phishing emails, including how to use MobileMe webmail to see the real address hiding under a link, take a look at Apple’s support document: MobileMe: Identifying fraudulent “phishing” email.
If you do receive an email that arouses your suspicions, select all the text in the message and use the Forward as Attachment command in the Message menu in Mac OS X Mail or the Action menu in Outlook to send it to . This will provide Apple with information that can be useful to their legal department and outside law enforcement, and they’ll be grateful for your help. Like crime in general, phishing can’t be totally stamped out, but it can be fought.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Judge Bork” and “coolfactor” for the heads up.]