The email message below which claims that the recipients' Apple ID has been locked 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 that steals account usernames and passwords. 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.
The "Your Apple iCloud has been Locked" Scam
From: iCloud Team [mailto:appleid@s.aolcdn.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2017 2:25 PM
Subject: Reminder : Your Apple iCloud has been locked
Your Apple iCloud has been Locked !
Dear
We've detect that your Apple ID is being used by another device that is unauthorized with your Apple ID. So we will lock your Apple ID to make sure your data is secure.
What Should I Do ?
If your Apple ID was Locked you must update your Informations of your Apple ID. If you already have update your Informations, your Apple ID will start to work as normal once again.
If you don't update your Apple ID Information, your Apple ID will be closed.
Update Now.
Sincerely,
Apple ID
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.