Apple says a ‘small number’ of Chinese users had their Apple IDs stolen

Published 10:22 AM ET Tue, 16 Oct 2018

Apple said Tuesday that a “small number” of Chinese users had their Apple IDs stolen and false payment transactions made through their accounts.

Earlier news reports said several hundred Chinese users reported being hacked. All of the accounts were hacked through phishing scams — a common practice in which fraudsters steal information through misleading emails or links. The affected users hadn’t enabled two-factor authentication on their accounts.

In investigating the fraudulent transactions, Apple hasn’t found any signs of a breach in the company’s systems, according to a person familiar with the review.

“We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers by these phishing scams. We are proactively identifying suspicious activities and reaching out to affected customers. We strongly advise all users to enable two-factor authentication, which prevents unauthorized access to their accounts,” Apple said in a statement.

Earlier this month Apple denied reports of a separate, large-scale hacking attempt, saying the company had found “absolutely no evidence” of alleged Chinese spy chips.

Source:Apple says a ‘small number’ of Chinese users had their Apple IDs stolen