How to reset your Apple ID password. Scam?? Phish??

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Josh2000 Author

Level 2

339 points

How to reset your Apple ID password. Scam?? Phish??

The following message has been sent to me 4 times in the last 3 weeks. I have not responded, clicked thru but i have tried to report it to Apple. I have looked at the header and I see the word "apple" in there but the rest is a lot of nonsense to me. I have made no changes to my Apple ID or done anything that would prompt this message. Is someone trying to Phish me or is Apple doing random checks???

Dear (my name),
To reset your Apple ID password, simply click the link below. That will take you to a web page where you can create a new password.
Please note that the link will expire three hours after this email was sent.

Reset your Apple ID password >

Questions? There are lots of answers on our Apple ID support page >

If you weren't trying to reset your password, don't worry — your account is still secure and no one has been given access to it. Most likely, someone just mistyped their email address while trying to reset their own password.
Thanks,
Apple Customer Support

MacBookPro Uni, 4GB RAM, 10.5.8 -&- G5 Dual2GHz, 3GB SDRAM, 10.5.8, Mac OS X (10.5.8), sometimes WinXP SP2

Posted on Nov 9, 2010 5:22 PM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,320 points

Nov 9, 2010 5:28 PM in response to Josh2000

Thanks, I'll try to elevate it for you.

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Answer 2

Josh2000 Author

Level 2

339 points

Nov 9, 2010 5:49 PM in response to Barney-15E

Barney - That would be great. Thanks.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,320 points

Nov 9, 2010 6:05 PM in response to Josh2000

I should have thrown out that no reputable company will ask you to reset account details via a link in an email. That is a guaranteed phishing scam. Note that for most people, their AppleID is also used for iTunes. So, getting hold of that information gives them a free ride in the iTunes/App store.

Almost all companies have a link somewhere for reporting phishing scams like that. If not directly on the main page, it is usually in the Contacts link. Or, it is sometimes linked under Security or Privacy. I had to dig down into Contact us, Apple ID, and finally on a link on the sidebar [Identifying fraudulent "phishing" email|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2080] here on the Apple site.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

210,467 points

Nov 9, 2010 7:05 PM in response to Barney-15E

You can report spam to Apple at spam@me.com and I would image that this would fall under the same category. Enable the full headers and then send the email to the address above.

OT

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Answer 5

Josh2000 Author

Level 2

339 points

Nov 9, 2010 7:24 PM in response to Barney-15E

Barney - I've been up and down that pg:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2075
...but did not find a link for reporting such things. Only instructions on recognizing and avoiding.

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Answer 6

Josh2000 Author

Level 2

339 points

Nov 9, 2010 7:29 PM in response to Old Toad

OT- I have done as you suggested. Thanks.
We'll see what happens. Maybe they can tell enough from the header to warn us better.

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

245,189 points

Nov 9, 2010 7:51 PM in response to Josh2000

You can glean some info in the Long Headers by looking for something like this...

Received: from qmta02.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net (qmta02.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net [76.96.x.x]

Then use Netwrtk Utility>Lookup to find where that IP leads to.

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Answer 8

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,320 points

Nov 9, 2010 8:02 PM in response to Josh2000

I thought it would be in that link. I couldn't find anything, either.

I searched for "reset password AppleID" using the search field up at the top of this page and found this link: http://support.apple.com/kb/HE37
It has one question that indicates Apple will send out that email if there are certain changes to your account. So, if you made recent changes to your account, Apple may have sent that email.

That page also gives a link to a page to verify your id.

Message was edited by: Barney-15E

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Answer 9

Josh2000 Author

Level 2

339 points

Nov 9, 2010 10:32 PM in response to Barney-15E

HI -
I got a response from SPAM@ME.COM. I wonder if it only applies to folks with a ME account? Anyway - here's what they sent:
--------------------------------------------
Thank you for contacting MobileMe. We have received the spam report that you submitted.
MobileMe takes all violations of the Acceptable Use Policy very seriously.
A MobileMe security member will investigate the incident and will contact you if required.
All reported spam must be provided as an attachment.

If you are using the application Mail in Mac OS X please follow these steps:
1) Select the spam message in your Inbox
2) From the Menu bar select Message => Forward As Attachment
3) Address to spam@me.com and Send

The Mobileme Membership Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy are available online at:
http://www.apple.com/legal/mobileme/en/terms.html

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

MobileMe Postmaster

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