Apple Approval Notice text message scam

I received similar today at 7:58 am!!

Your Apple-ID was recently used at

"APPLE*STORE" for $223.49 via

Apple:Pay . To contact a representative, please call +1*******49

These **** messages is absolutely asinine and highly irritating to the point I honestly believe Apple is behind some of it! Same as slowing my phone down! I’m getting away from Apple altogether bc I’m just tired of the nonsense and changing my number too! No matter how many times this is reported nothing is done!

[Edited by Moderator]

zzkittenzz wrote:

Mod— why are the numbers being blocked out! People need and have a right to know the phone numbers these scammers are using to have a call and texting us from!

The Host do not respond to comments about moderation here. They routinely redact such numbers in posts to prevent them from being used accidentally or possibly by showing up in internet searches.

The actual numbers are not necessary to the discussion. They change all the time anyway.

bcrawfo299 wrote:

12/24 just got this txt. Had to look it up. America is +1 before area code, this number had +63. I don’t open up any text unless I know who it is and is on my contact list. If not on my contact list, I don’t open them.

Simply opening a text isn't going to hurt anything. Just don't click on links.

12/18/2024 I signed into eBay with my Apple ID and then received an email about suspicious activity and to change my password. I changed my Apple ID password and then I received this same message posted above via text 40 mins ago. I wasn't sure if any of it was tied together, but thought I would share.

I just got it this morning, 12/19/24. I always check the phone number. The country dial code on my scam text was 63, meaning it came from the Philippines. I blocked it. If you're unsure about whether a text is legit Been Verified is a good way to check. You type in the phone number and it will tell you if it's possible scam call or text.

It might not be necessary to you, but to people like me it was very helpful! Seeing that so many people had received the exact same message that I had really eased my anxiety that I had about funds possibly being taken out of my account!

Good morning everybody I just got this text today and I was going through the process of doing what the person said who said he was a representative of Apple Store approval you told me to go to Apple Store and then download a app called SOSH App and I was about to do it downloaded on my phone and I got a second thought maybe the Lord Advise me to Google this so-called department of Apple approved notice and this is where I found you at:

Here is what was texting to me:

Apple Approval Notice

We have noticed that your Apple iCloud id was recently used at \"APPLE STORE - CA\" for $143.95, paid by Apple Pay Pre Authorization. Also some suspicious sign in request and apple pay activation request detected. That looks like suspicious to us. In order to maintain the security and privacy of your account we have placed those request on hold.  If NOT you? talk to an Apple Representative. Failing may lead to auto debit and charge will not be reversed. Call +1 866895**** immediately to cancel this charge.

Billing Department :  Subscriptions and Billing - Official Apple Support

Have a great day!

[Edited by Moderator]

Crazyhorses wrote:

1/7/25

I have received two suspicious Apple texts today. Of course they make it sound authentic and by supplying Apple links and threatening to process excessive charges they’re looking for our reaction.- well I did, but I continue to play stupid as I screenshot every screen that he was asking me to move to, every app that he was trying to revise or remove, the dollar amount for humongous… then he was asking me on another page where there was an email intending to send a gift card to change my name from sender replaced with Apple as sender… I desperately tried to find a voice memo recording app so that I could record his desperate, plea with me, nearly 1 hour on the phone- I could not find an app to record for the life of me… but he could see everything that I was doing… I told him to F* off and I’ve never received a notice from Apple, but he could rest assured that I would be going directly to Apple because I’m sure he’s trying to hack my account. He proceeded to scream and scream and scream into my phone while he was on mute for a clear total of 93 minutes and I have not powered off my phone. He would still be there…. Help

Why did you call them? Why did you stay on the phone? I guess everyone needs a hobby....

northside62 wrote:

Just got the same text 1/8/2025

Not at all surprising.

Lots of folks are getting this scam, and we’re all getting many other scams.

Scamming is a business, is computerized and automated, and the scammers are using and sharing massive contact lists to blast mail and messages and SMS and phones to ~everybody.

Scammers are looking at the response rates of their spamming campaigns, and adjusting those campaigns to get past spam and scam filters, and also working to continuously improve their profits; the number of folks they can and do scam.

nsnelson925 wrote:

Got this today 1/8/25 from +63 9**********

[Edited by Moderator]

Yep. So have millions of other folks. Apple login fakes, Apple billing fakes, pick-your-bank fakes, some wonderfully well done AT&T billing fakes, USPS and other delivery service fakes, free-stuff fakes, romance scams, cryptocurrency scams, the ever popular sextortion and “hello pervert” scams, the list of scams here is endless.

Here are a very few of the many other scams:

• Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

PS: Getting an international text (from Philippines, here) about Apple billing this would make these particular messages suspect, too.

If you look closer, it says "example". In other word, how the date, time, numbers, monetary units will be displayed based on the options you chose. It is only an example and we all have the same one. It is not unique to your account.

MrHoffman wrote:

Tech support scammers have all sorts of things they’ll point to as part of the pretext of the scam (not the least of which includes telemetry), and to help identify those worth investing the time necessary to scam.

Using the region formatting examples is a new one to me. Weird and kind of clever.

Shellstar10 wrote:

I just received this text today on (1/22/25); don't they have any NEW material to use.

“They” is a bot that sends millions of identical fraudulent messages. No humans were involved, unless you foolishly respond.

Shellstar10 wrote:

I just received this text today on (1/22/25); don't they have any NEW material to use.

It’s a ~free to send, highly-automated, response-tested, and immense-scale business.

We are getting different amounts cited, just as the “you have (3) viruses!” messages eventually started picking other counts.

There are some discussions of whether it makes sense to make these scams better too, as that can end up wasting the scammers’ time when a somewhat-wary caller calls in and then hangs up before the scammer can reach the profit they seek.

MrHoffman wrote:

There are some discussions of whether it makes sense to make these scams better too, as that can end up wasting the scammers’ time when a somewhat-wary caller calls in and then hangs up before the scammer can reach the profit they seek.

As John Oliver explained a few months ago, you are wasting the time of virtual slaves in huge scam factories in Myanmar; thousands of desperate people who were offered a job, were bused to a “village” in the middle of nowhere and found there was no way to leave, and the only way to spend their wages was at the “company store”.