Scamwatch: new iTunes email fraud

Stay one step ahead of the fraudsters with our series of articles giving you the lowdown on the scams they use to trick people out of their hard-earned cash - and how to avoid being taken in by them.

This week, we focus on a new email scam being used to trick iTunes users into giving out their card details.

How does it work?
Fraudsters are targeting the millions of iTunes users with a scam email purporting to be from the customer support team at Apple's online music store.

Titled "iTunes Account Suspension Billing Information", the email appears to be a request that you update your card information to maintain an active iTunes account.

Reply, and the criminals behind the scam will use your card details to steal your money.

How can I avoid being caught out?

Fraudsters know that online services such as iTunes have access to the thing they want: your financial details.

That's why so many of their phishing emails are designed to look as if they were sent by such services.

Savvy internet users can spot bogus emails by looking out for certain telltale signs, though.

For example, although the iTunes email described above appears to be from Apple, the sender's email address ends with ourwacs.com, rather than apple.com.

The email text also includes a couple of spelling mistakes - a good indication that it is fraudulent.

I've been defrauded. What should I do?

If you fall for a phishing email, the first thing to do is to contact your bank or card company to secure your account.

Once that's been done, you can take steps to help authorities crack down on the fraudsters.

Apple has a dedicated email address (reportphising@apple.com) for people to report scams like this.

You can also report fraudulent, phishing emails to Action Fraud on 0300 123 20 40.

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