Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
65,337
33,640



As noted by ZDNet, scammers have launched a new round of phishing emails on the heels of an outage of Apple's Developer Center late last week. The email offers the recipient access back into their accounts if they click on a link posing as an official Apple page. However, the page is actually located on another site and proceeds to take the account credentials of the user if they log in on the page.

Phishing attacks targeting Apple customers are regular occurrences given the size of the company's user base. But with many casual users perhaps only vaguely aware of Apple having had a recent problem with some of its online services, they may now be more likely to fall victim to such an attack.

apple_developer_scam.png
Earlier this week, independent security researcher Ibrahim Balic speculated that he may be responsible for the breach that caused the extended outage of Apple's Developer Center, which for the most part remains offline one week after it was taken down by Apple. Yesterday, Apple outlined a plan for bringing its Developer Center back online, and also created a status page to display the availability of its services.

Article Link: Apple Developer Center Outage Sparks New Round of Phishing Attacks
 

rodpascoe

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2006
251
666
Truro, Cornwall
Look at that grammar! Although it may look quite real, it reads like an 8 year old has written it.

I was going to post the same thing and then saw your post hellomoto4.

It reads terribly and you have to wonder at the literacy of the people who fall foul of these phishing attacks really.

:(
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,695
32,105
Um, that doesn't look legit at all. Can't believe someone would mistake that for an official Apple email. :eek:
 

phr0ze

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2012
513
0
Columbia, MD
Can't imagine how many people would fall for it if it was perfectly written and the landing page professionally done. But in all that looks like crap.
 

ArmCortexA8

macrumors 65816
Feb 18, 2010
1,085
213
Terra Australis
If anyone actually falls for this, they should not be a Developer. The grammar in this email is shocking. Apple don't address with "Dear Apple Customer" / Apple Don't use "to get back into your account" / Apple never use "update now" links, as Apple always shows the full link in emails / "Confirmed" should not be capitalised / Apple don't use the term "right away" / Apple don't use the term "fraudsters" (ironically the fraudsters are the one's sending these out) / And "yours sincerely, apple" - no capital A an no carriage return after "sincerely".

Oh and the the way, where's the Apple Logo?
 

whooleytoo

macrumors 604
Aug 2, 2002
6,607
716
Cork, Ireland.
I've heard a theory (which might be plausible) that the spelling or grammar errors are deliberate, in order to weed out the careful/sceptical users right at the start.

Anyone who doesn't notice the spelling/grammar/layout errors right at the start is more likely to give our their passwords/credit card details later.

Maybe that's giving them too much credit. :)
 

Madmic23

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2004
903
1,035
It always amazes me how scammers can be so smart when it comes to creating fake websites, collecting data, and getting in through back doors, but are so incredibly stupid at putting together a simple sentence.
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
Look at that grammar! Although it may look quite real, it reads like an 8 year old has written it.

Yep. Then there is the target audience. Developers are generally too smart to fall for this kind of game.

There are folks that wonder if this researcher isn't a tad full of it and if at least some of the phish is just part of his 'attack' scheme. Couldn't brute in so let's try some social tricking. And the whole 'just research' is to build a defense.
 

firedept

macrumors 603
Jul 8, 2011
6,278
1,130
Somewhere!
Why don't I just hand you all my passwords! Come on, at least make it look official. My teenage son tutors 6-7 year old kids and they could probably do better with the grammar. Scumbags (and I use the term very lightly) will take advantage of anything, won't they.
 

Zyphras

macrumors member
Jun 25, 2012
92
0
Yeah, because developers aren't savvy to this at all. :rolleyes: Grandpa, maybe. Not developers.
 

bacaramac

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2007
1,424
100
If a dev falls for this, they deserve to get scammed. I have also heard the poor grammer, etc is to weed out people who wouldn't fall for scam. If you continue to page and input your credentials, you will probably continue giving info like credit card, ssn, etc.
 

Ubuntu

macrumors 68020
Jul 3, 2005
2,160
491
UK/US
I was going to post the same thing and then saw your post hellomoto4.

It reads terribly and you have to wonder at the literacy of the people who fall foul of these phishing attacks really.

:(

... and the naivety of those who assume everyone else speaks English as a first language. :p
 

Yptcn

macrumors 68020
Aug 24, 2012
2,151
1,187
Paris
... and the naivety of those who assume everyone else speaks English as a first language. :p

FYI , these emails come in other languages ! I'm french and got it a few times in french ;)

…and the grammar is bad also !
 

stepmuel

macrumors newbie
Feb 1, 2012
13
12
It always amazes me how scammers can be so smart when it comes to creating fake websites, collecting data, and getting in through back doors, but are so incredibly stupid at putting together a simple sentence.

The ones that can put together simple sentences just never get caught…
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.