If you received a call stating that someone had hacked your cloud storage and uploaded illegal material there, you’d be pretty concerned. That’s what scammers are relying on with this latest iCloud Investigator scam. You get a call from a team member at “Apple” trying to persuade you that criminals are using your iCloud account for some seriously illegal activities. Let’s take a closer look.
What Is the iCloud Investigator Scam?
The scam starts when you get a call from “Apple Special Investigations Unit.” Thanks to caller ID spoofing, the call can look incredibly genuine and even fully emulate the number from Apple support. So, don’t assume it’s not a scam just because you see a number you recognize.
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The caller will then tell you that your iCloud account has been hacked by a criminal, who is using it to store child sexual abuse images or other highly illegal files. The shock factor is the important element here. The idea is to scare you into taking action by emphasizing the seriousness of the alleged crime.
The scammer will then ask for remote access to your device. They’ll promise to take the illegal data off the device or iCloud account, but only if you pay thousands of dollars. Once they have your money, they then also have access to your device to steal data and login details to perform further scams.
Red Flags that Highlight the iCloud Investigator Scam as Fake
There are several factors that highlight these “iCloud investigators” as scammers:
- There’s no such team as the “Apple Special Investigations Unit.” Apple is not routinely checking your iCloud account and is unlikely to call you at all.
- Many of these scammers ask for payment in gift cards or other untraceable funds. A legitimate company will never do this.
- Apple won’t be the organization to contact you if your account is involved in illegal activity. Instead, law enforcement agencies are much more likely to be in touch.
Here are some actions you can immediately take if you’re concerned that there’s any truth to the iCloud investigator scam.
Step 1. Change your Apple ID password. You can do this on any Apple device or at the Apple website.
Step 2. Log in to your iCloud account and review your files. You’ll most likely find there’s nothing illegal or concerning in there.
Step 3. Report any suspected scams or fraud via the relevant USA.gov website.
Stay Informed About Phone Scams
Calls that sound genuine and official can be confusing if you don’t know what to look out for, especially if they appear to implicate you in something illegal. Sign up for Scam Detector’s Scam Alerts to get updates straight to your inbox on the latest scams so you know exactly what to look out for.
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When my sweet old grandmother got caught up in an Amazon gift card scam, I decided then and there that I needed to do whatever I could to inform as many people as possible about the grifters of the world. That’s what I do here – writing about modern scams so you don’t get caught out.
