I have a Apple account just for the kids Apple devices (required for school). Received an email from Apple support about fraudulent activity and that they'd call at sometimes. I thought that was weird and checked out the email and everything was legit.

Call came in a little early then in the email. They knew all the right details including the case number, sent a verification code to my mobile from a short code SMS "iCloud" and at that point they had me. But only until they asked me to go to a site apple.somebullshit.com. Well apple isn't going to use a domain that's not *.apple.com. went there anyway to check and the SSL cert was from Let's encrypt, apple ain't using let's encrypt.

20 years in IT, that's the closest I've been in. Very long time to falling for something.

[–] Barbarian@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I know someone who got had by a spearfishing call. They knew all the details about his phone contract, sounded 100% legit. The scammer got thousands of dollars in prepaid SIM cards from his account.

After the police investigation, turned out that the scammer was actually a former employee of the phone company who downloaded a copy of the customer list when he got fired.

[–] ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This is why even if I think something is 100% legit, if a place calls me asking for anything I tell them I have to check on it and call back. Then I'll call their known public number and go through that way. I've avoided a couple scam situations like this

[–] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

This is literally the correct way to proceed in any inbound communication. Doesn't matter who it is, the more authority they claim the faster to hang up.

They will try and trigger your lizard brain and make you feel like you must act now.

[–] valkyre09@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Honestly this is so simple and effective at stopping these sort of scams dead in their tracks. When you call in to help desk and say “I was just on the phone with your agents about a payment problem” and they don’t see any record, it’ll set off all sorts of alarm bells. Especially if it’s the bank.

[–] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 month ago

Apple ain't using Let's Encrypt

To be fair, I've seen just about everyone use Let's Encrypt, from banks to nsa.gov. The latter has switched their certificate provider though.

[–] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 1 points 1 month ago

That's frightening

[–] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They got you because you're not familiar with the Apple ecosystem nor their support system. That's all sus as hell.

You also failed at basic opsec because you allowed them to control the flow of communication.

Was there actual suspicious activity? Did an actual Apple representative ever contact you because it sounds like the whole thing was a phish but you make it sound like they just got the case number and timing when the more likely scenario is that the email was also them.

[–] Brickhead92@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Totally agree that I don't know the Apple eco system and that made it easier. It was a legit apple support email. Even compared all email headers with the email I received after I called Apple support and opened a new case. I gave them all the info I could.

It was definitely phishing, I'd even say spear phishing as the knew all of my details without me giving it out. I assume from leaked data somewhere.

I'm pretty sure that they were able to create a support case with me details and scheduled it for that time so they had the case number and knew to call before that time.

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So are you saying the original email genuinely was from Apple? If so do you have any idea how the scammers got all that info? And did you ever receive the legitimate call back from Apple?

[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 month ago

I’m just speculating but maybe they (scammers) filled out a fraudulent activity form on the Apple site on behalf of the victim and then called before an Apple rep did.

[–] e_chao@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Inspired by this post, I just created a phishing test for my staff with a malicious URL in a "report this as spam" link, complete with a required training for those who click the link.

[–] Phoenix3875@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

privacy policy

look inside

sells your data

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[–] Anarki_@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

The policy is that you don't have privacy and that they sell your data.

[–] RedSnt@feddit.dk 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I get that feeling when I press "report spam" and gmail suggest I "unsubscribe from them", that that's exactly what the spammer want, a ping back so they know I'm susceptible, that I'm an engaging fool, and get put on all the lists.

[–] Dainis@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not sure if emails work the same way, but this is how phone scammers work

If you interact with a phone scammer, send them to hell or do anything at all with them, you just get added to a big lost of people that respond to scam calls and so you get more calls

[–] muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee 0 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I try waste as much of their time as possible. It seems I've been such a cunt and wasted so much of their time that they have put my number on a blacklist.

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's what I figured too. Make sure to be the biggest pain for them. Seems dumb to put someone that is savvy and not a rube on a list to be called more. I would think the not answering scam calls would get you more calls because they are unsure of you.

[–] muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago

I defiantly got onto the call more list at one point but I kept being the biggest pain in the ass and one day they just stopped completely. I once had these one people on the phone for 6hours straight and went through about 4 transfers in the process. They connected with my VM at one point where I was live developing a fake bank website I had passed through from my host. Did u know u can embed the password game into a website extremely easily and conveniently I needed a password reset and needed help. Yes I stole the idea from kitboga.

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I have a work phone and a personal phone. The work phone i answer calls from I known numbers all the time. My contact information gets passed around as part of my business. For a while I had scammers hitting my number 3-4 times per day. I answered and fucked with them every time. A little free stress relief through the day. Now I almost never get them anymore.

My personal phone I have always screened all the calls. It still gets hit with scammers 2-3 times per week.

I guess you are right. There is a list going around of numbers who waste their time.

[–] Wild_Mastic@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Also work on the unsubscribe button

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

wow I hate this meme format

[–] 0ops@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago

I heard once that the reason that those phishing emails are (usually) pretty obvious is because the phisher doesn't want to accidentally catch a more attentive and careful victim, spend time trying to wire money from them, only for the victim to realize that it's a scam before following through, therefore wasting the phishers time. The type of person to fall for the Nigerian prince stuff is not common, but they exist and the odds of them paying out are much higher.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Our IT sent out a test once that was a fake "someone sent you this document on teams" link and I fell for it assuming it was another stupid microsoft workflow for sharing documents. The only reason I didn't actually hit the log in part that would have got me reported was because I didn't care enough about whatever it was that was supposedly sent to me.

[–] mormegil@programming.dev 1 points 1 month ago

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