If you receive this kind of message on iPhone, it might be a scam

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Scammers are always coming up with new ideas to try to trick their targets. For example, in a previous article, we mentioned the existence of an online scam that, in order to thwart the protections against fraudulent links of e-mail services, sends fake documents with QR codes to scan. Indeed, since the protection algorithms generally only scan clickable links, QR codes can slip through the net. And recently, our colleagues at Bleepingcomputer highlighted a scam targeting iPhone users, which consists of encouraging targets to disable iMessage protection against fraudulent links.

To protect iPhone users, Apple automatically disables links in messages when they come from an unknown phone number. However, the company told Bleepingcomputer that these links are then activated if the user replies to the message or if the number is added to the contact list. And this is precisely the mechanism that scammers are trying to exploit to thwart the protection. Scammers impersonate a business or the postal service, send a fraudulent link in the message, and instruct the target to reply or copy the text from the link and paste it into Safari.

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Scammers ask you to turn off iMessage protection

“Please reply Y (as in Yes), then exit the text message, reopen the text message activation link, or copy the link into Safari to open it”, reads the examples provided by Bleepingcomputer. If the user opens such a link, they can then be redirected to fake web pages that steal sensitive data, such as passwords or even payment information.

So, if you receive a message that asks you to copy the text of a link, or to reply to disable iMessage’s anti-phishing protection, you should be extremely vigilant. For example, you can try contacting the company to verify that the message really comes from them. And, as usual, you should always double-check the address of the links you receive before clicking. This tactic has reportedly been used since last year, with a resurgence since the summer.

• iPhone users are being targeted with a new tactic to trick them into bypassing iMessage’s anti-phishing measures
• iMessage disables links from unknown numbers
• To get around this, the fraudulent messages ask their targets to reply or copy-paste the unclickable links

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