Apple is getting rid of iTunes after nearly 20 years of service.
The announcement leaves some people confused and worried about what will happen with their music libraries. Consumer reporter John Matarese reports how scammers are taking advantage of that confusion.
Scammers are already taking advantage of the uncertainty, he reports.
Like some iTunes users, Jenna Webster is confused about the upcoming phaseout of iTunes, which Apple announced recently.
So when she got a notice that purported to be from Apple the other day, an email that claimed to be from “customer Apple,” she opened it and read some bad news.
“As of right now your account has been locked, where you can’t do anything. So please click here, and you can reset your password and we’ll get you all squared away,” it said.
She was alarmed and clicked through.
“So did it look like it was from Apple? I clicked the link and it took me to a page that looked just like my iTunes main page for Apple,” she said.
The page asked her to re-enter her information to restore her account. She clicked on a couple of links first.
“All if the links on that page were not working. The only thing it wanted you to do was put in your password, and we can help you out,” she said.
That’s when she realized it was a phishing email.
“They would have been able to steal all my information. I have my credit card linked to my Apple ID so I can make purchase,” she said.
Phishing emails are common, and scammers will say anything to try to trick people into giving up their passwords, account names and numbers, and financial information.
As a reminder: no company you do business with, including Apple, will ever email you asking you for your password.
Apple also has said that no one will lose any purchased iTunes songs when iTunes.
If you want to read Apple’s explanation about what the changes will mean, click here.
