Warning - "Your Apple ID has been Placed on Hold" is a Phishing Scam

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Updated: Dec. 12, 2017 2017-12-12T20:22:20
Posted: Dec. 12, 2017 2017-12-12T20:20:26
Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

The email message below which claims that the recipients' Apple IDs have been placed on hold is another attempt by cybercriminals to steal their potential victims’ Apple account credentials. The fake email has links in it that go to a phishing Apple website which steals account usernames and password. The phishing website steals account credentials by asking visitors to sign-in with their Apple account usernames and passwords. Now, any attempt to sign into the fake or phishing website will result in the visitors’ Apple account credentials being sent to the cybercriminals responsible for the scam. Once the cyber crooks have gotten possession of the stolen account credentials, they will use it to hijack their victims’ Apple accounts and use the same accounts fraudulently.

A Sample of the "Your Apple ID has been Placed on Hold" Phishing Scam

From: not-reply@notification.zhnl1173-suspicious-email -access-account-lockedpleasefocused focused1233450798266002463 webappsemailmail. account.live.mail.comMIME-Version: 1.0

Re : [Statements New Update] [Alert] Account Log-in Information Has Been Updated [ACS Confirmation]

Greetings from Apple Store Service,

We were unable to validate important details about your Apple account. Your account has been placed on hold pending additional verification.

You will not be able to log in to your Apple account.

If you do not respond within 5 days of this email (10-12-2017).

Your account will be suspended and you will no longer be able to access Apple services To avoid,suspension

Click one of the links and follow the instructions.

Start links

https://www.apple.com/support/service/HT31162

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Apple Team

Apple users should never click on a link in an email message to sign into their accounts. They should instead, go directly to https://appleid.apple.com/ and sign-in from there. If there is something wrong with their accounts, they will be alerted after signing in. Users who were tricked by the phishing scam, are asked to change their Apple account passwords immediately before their accounts are hijacked and used fraudulently. For those users who are unable to change their passwords, are asked to contact Apple Technical Support for help.