Online criminals have developed a new texting scheme to bypass the iPhone’s built-in phishing protection.
Apple uses a tool called “Filter Unknown Senders” which is embedded into the iMessage set-up.
It’s designed to automatically disable links in texts sent from unknown senders, whether from an email address or phone number.
Cybercriminals have been seen luring victims into replying to a text by asking users to reply with “Y”, BleepingComputer reported.
One text, seen by the company, said: “Please reply Y, then exit the text message, reopen the text message activation link, or copy the link to Safari browser to open it.”
A spokesperson for Apple told BleepingComputer that if a user replies to the message or adds the sender to their contact list, then they will be able to open the malicious links.
Even if the victim doesn’t click on the link, just replying can signal to criminals that the phone number is active – making you a prime target.
A foolproof way to avoid so-called “Y” scams is to completely ignore messages from unknown senders.
Another way to protect yourself is checking to see if the message is from someone claiming to be from a well-known company or service and then contacting them directly using its official channels.
You will then be able to talk to a legitimate employee, who will be able to tell you whether the message is a scam or not.
Users can then scroll down to Filter Unknown Senders and enable the system by switching it on.
If you want to check whether you have any messages from unknown senders after enabling the tool, you can tap on “Filters” in the top left and select “Unknown senders” in your messages app.
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.