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iTunes Gift Card Phishing Fraud

The bad guys are continuing to utilize their social engineering skills for their financial gains–this time they’re requesting iTunes gift cards. They’re posing as your organization’s executives or CEO, and using methods of authority and urgency to intimidate you into buying the gift cards for them.

Here's how it works:
They send an email saying something along the lines of:

“Hi [your name here],
Are you in the office? I need you to get something done for me ASAP."

Once you’ve responded and let them know you’re available to assist, the imposter instructs you to obtain multiple iTunes gift cards for clients, or for other work-related reasons. They often insist that they are currently in a meeting and can’t talk at the moment–prompting you to reply back via email.

Don’t fall under pressure and hand these criminals your or your organization’s money! Here are some things to look out for–and think about–should you find yourself in a situation such as this:

• Do you recognize the email address?
• Even if the address appears to come from your domain, question its authenticity.
• Do you usually receive specific requests such as this, or is it an unusual inquiry?
• Call your executive or supervisor to validate this request.
• Even if the request is authentic and they actually are in a meeting, hopefully, the requestor can respect your efforts of due diligence.

Let's stay safe out there!

Stop, Look, and Think. Don't be fooled.