In Australia there is a very clever scam going on at the moment. When your email stops working, you may get a call from someone claiming they are from ‘Apple Support.’ It may be a polite greeting like ‘Hello this is Mary from Apple Support and we’ve noticed you’ve had a problem with your Gmail on your Apple Computer. This is a problem we are working to fix. Are you at your computer now…’ etc. This happened to a relative of mine and it was soooo convincing that I could not initially convince them that it was not Apple! To verify it we asked for a case number from the person, then rang Apple support, to find there was no such case number.

They then will do various things including wanting to gain remote access to your computer to ‘help you fix the problem’. While they are doing this they can upload a program to your computer that can scan for passwords etc. They will try to keep you talking as long as possible.

They may also ask for your VISA details to pay to install special software to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.

This is all a scam.

It is very clever and they talk with nice english accents unlike the usual scammers from overseas.

They also do it when there are genuine problems with Gmail and Apple so it’s likely you may have experienced the very problem they describe.

If do you need support, ring Apple on their support line on their published phone number.

AUSTRALIA: 133 622

USA: 1300 321 456

If Apple ring you for support, grab a case number and ring them back on their published number so you can be sure that it is Apple you are talking to.

A good reminder to not give out your details to anyone who rings you, even if they claim to be from Apple, a bank, the government, the tax office or the Post Office. If you need to discuss anything with someone make sure you ring them on the official phone number.

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