• Contact
  • About
  • ISSN 3049-9763
  • Authors and editors
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
North East Bylines
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Region
  • Opinion
AUDIO
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Region
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
North East Bylines
Home News

New wave of scams reported, including impersonating Apple

Scam alert: watch out for fake iCloud storage emails

Peter Sagar by Peter Sagar
08-05-2025 07:30
in News, Technology
Reading Time: 6 mins read
A A
Apple Logo. Photo by Sumudu Mohottige on Unsplash

Apple Logo. Photo by Sumudu Mohottige on Unsplash

Share on Bluesky

Which? have reported that fraudsters posing as Apple have now become some of the most common impersonation scams.  Which? says that they have seen six scam emails impersonating Apple’s iCloud service which use various claims to convince recipients to click on malicious links within the message.

Impersonating Apple

It is noted that the fake emails look like they’re from iCloud and tell you that your storage is full, that your payment method is outdated or that there’s suspicious activity on your account.

It has also been noted that this is not the first time scammers have impersonated Apple, and nor will it be the last.

Scammers are impersonating Apple and iCloud so that they can then send dodgy emails claiming that your iCloud storage is full or nearly full to rush you into taking quick action to extend your storage capacity.

Which? say that they have seen fraudsters adding pressure by claiming that you’re ‘at risk of losing your photos, videos and important files’, and that you must ‘upgrade today to keep your precious files and memories safe’. Which? say that one email claimed to offer an 80% discount to ‘upgrade now’.

Other emails were said to have stated that a payment method was out of date and needed to be updated in order to keep using iCloud services.  Which? also saw one email that said suspicious activities had been noticed on your iCloud account and it may be suspended.

Which? go on to say that, “all of these emails led to dodgy phishing websites that gather personal details, such as your name, email address and phone number and financial details, such as your bank information.  This information can go on to be sold on the dark web or used to craft a more convincing scam to target you with”.

Tech brands are the most impersonated

At the beginning of 2025, phishing attacks impersonating technology companies were said to be the most common, according to insights shared by cyber security company Check Point.

It was noted that, “Check Point has warned that scammers impersonating Microsoft were the most common, making up more than a third of phishing attempts it observed from January to March 2025. Scammers impersonating Google made up one in eight phishing attempts and those that claimed to be from Apple accounted for just under one in 10”.

Latest Scams

6th May – Failed Delivery Scam:   On 6th May Which? recorded a failed delivery scam text.  They stated that, “a scam text from ‘The Sorting Centre’ tells you that providing incorrect address information has led to two failed deliveries and leads to a malicious website to ‘update your address.’ The message also uses ‘the recent frequent incidents of lost parcels’ to appear more legitimate. The dodgy link included in the text will lead to a site designed to steal your personal and financial data or download malware to your device”.

You can report scam texts by forwarding them to 7726.

1st May – M&S Scam:   In this scam, you will receive a scam email claiming to be from M&S telling you that you’ve been chosen to receive an afternoon tea Letterbox hamper. It then says that you must follow a link to complete a short survey to receive the hamper. This will then lead to a dodgy website designed to steal your personal and financial information.

Scam emails can be reported by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Malicious websites can be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre

29th April – PayPal Impersonation Scam:   In this scam you receive a scam email impersonating PayPal telling you that an unauthorised transaction was made using your PayPal account.   You are then prompted to call a dodgy number to receive a refund.  This will then put you through to a scammer trying to get your personal and financial details.

Scam emails can be reported by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk.

24th April – Oasis fans have lost over £2m to ticket scams

According to the volume of fraud reports made by its own customers, since Oasis reunion tickets were released, Lloyds Banking Group has estimated that more than £2m has been stolen by ticket scammers across more than 1,000 cases.

Lloyds said that many cases had begun on social media and that across its banks – Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland – Oasis fans made up “more than half of all reported concert ticket scams so far this year, losing £436 on average. The biggest amount lost in a single case was over £1,700”.

22nd April – Weight Loss Pill Scam

You might receive a scam email impersonating Mail Online promoting a ‘miracle weight loss pill.’  The email also claims that the product scored a deal on tv show Dragon’s Den and includes a phishing link for you to purchase the item. The link will lead to a dodgy website asking for your personal and financial information.

Scam emails can be reported by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Malicious websites can be reported to the National Cyber Crime Centre  by clicking here.

More information on the latest scams can be found here.

If you think you have come across what looks like a scam, you can share information about it on the scam sharing tool found here.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER

HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!

Tags: AppleFraudICloudScamsWhich
Previous Post

Redcar and Cleveland: Counter-fraud plan shared with councillors with ‘strong action’ promised against criminals

Next Post

Durham: Childcare grant to launch

Peter Sagar

Peter Sagar

Peter is a teacher, writer and historian who has also been active in human rights work for 35 years. He is particularly interested in how our great human rights history in the North East can help us to be both inspired and enlightened and enable us to face up to the challenges we face today. These challenges include defending the human rights of all people in the region and the country and dealing with the existential crisis that is climate change

Related Posts

footbridge
Business

Another day at the Teesworks flagship: SeAH Wind publishes its annual accounts

by Ray Casey
14 September 2026
Daniel Astley, Reform UK councillor for Benwell, Scotswood and Denton Burn, speaking at a Newcastle City Council meeting on 2 September 2026.
Politics

Newcastle Reform councillor expelled from party

by Daniel Holland
14 September 2026
Victoria Viaduct, photo by Ray Casey
Transport

The Tyne & Wear Metro is coming to Washington: here’s a preview

by Ray Casey
13 September 2026
A train decked out in the new GBR livery. Credit: UK Government
Transport

New trains for Middlesbrough

by Daniel Hodgson
13 September 2026
Reform UK logo
Opinion

The Reform councillors’ vanishing act

by David Goff
12 September 2026
Next Post
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness with Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School pupils at their breakfast club in Peterlee. Photo: NECA.

Durham: Childcare grant to launch

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

BROWSE BY TAGS

#BenHouchen Ben Houchen Business Co. Durham community Culture Darlington Durham Economy Education entertainment Environment Equality Finance Funding Gateshead Hartlepool Health History Housing Human Rights Local Lockdown Middlesbrough Newcastle North East Northumberland Online safety opinion Peace Politics Redcar Short Story Sunday STDC Stockton Sunderland Technology Teesside Teesworks Transport TVCA Tyneside Ukraine Wearside Which?

We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in the North East and beyond.

North East Bylines is a trading brand of Bylines Networks Limited which is separate to, but allied with, Byline Times.

Learn more about us

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Authors and editors
  • Complaints
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Letters
  • Privacy
  • Network Map
  • Network RSS Feeds
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Download the Bylines Network App

© 2020-2026 North East Bylines. Powerful Citizen Journalism. ISSN 3049-9763

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • UK News
    • Transport
    • World News
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • Culture
    • Music
    • Poetry
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Technology
    • Trade
  • Audio
  • Authors and editors

Newsletter sign up

CROWDFUNDER

© 2020-2026 North East Bylines. Powerful Citizen Journalism. ISSN 3049-9763