How can I tell if an Apple ID message is a scam?

The second clue (after the knee-jerk reaction of "I never made this charge!") is the obvious grammatical errors

'apple id' - really? you think Apple would ever not capitalize their own company name, or service? First, it's 'Apple ID', not 'apple id' (note the capitalization), and secondly that service name has been renamed to 'Apple Account'. Apple probably know their own service and product names.

'apple pay' - Same as above - it's 'Apple Pay', not 'apple pay'

'apple store' - Same as above - 'it's 'Apple Store', not 'apple store'

'If not done by you', grammatically weak.

One thing that Apple does really well, is hire good technical writers for all their products, who would never let this kind of message go out.

I've heard various theories about why these messages look like this, from 'they're too stupid to know how to do it right', through 'it's done to avoid copyright/trademark infringement since 'apple' isn't the same as 'Apple™' so they're "not lying"', and even 'it's done on purpose since people who don't notice grammatical errors are more likely to fall for scams, so there's a higher chance of getting a response from a vulnerable/gullible victim'.

100% scam. Don't call the number. Delete/ignore the message and move on with your life.

Or call them back and tell them what scumbags they are after stringing them along as long as you can with banal answers to their questions. Your choice :)

All you need to do is a Google search on the phone number to see it has nothing to do with Apple.

That’s a classic scam.

⛔️ Block the scammer immediately! ⚠️

If you receive a suspicious email or SMS text message that looks like it's supposed to be from Apple, please email it to reportphishing@apple.com. 

Learn how to ⇢ Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Patti1970 wrote:

Activity Notice: Your apple id has been charged with $137.38 via apple pay at the apple store. If not done by you, contact 83***1360 immediately.

scam

[Edited by Moderator]