Your iPhone can feel nearly useless to a thief once you mark it as lost.Apple's Activation Lock can help turn a stolen device into a locked brick.
That should make phone theft less profitable.Yet thieves have found a nasty workaround.According to new research from Infoblox Threat Intel, the cybersecurity research team at Infoblox, criminals are using fake Apple pages, smishing texts and Telegram-based unlocking tools to trick stolen iPhone owners into handing over their passcodes.Infoblox Threat Intel tracks cybercriminal activity partly by studying DNS, the system that helps devices find websites online.
Think of DNS as the internet's phone book.By watching patterns in suspicious website names and traffic, researchers can spot fake domains, phishing pages and larger scam networks.The scary part is how personal the scam can feel.
The thief may already have your phone.The message may arrive right after the theft.
The fake page may even show what looks like your iPhone moving on a map.WHY IPHONE USERS ARE THE NEW PRIME SCAM TARGETSCybercriminals are using fake Apple pages and text messages to trick stolen iPhone owners into giving up their passcodes.(Kurt CyberGuy Knutsson)Researchers found that many thieves care less about the data on the phone and more about turning the device into resale cash.
Once they get your passcode, they can remove protections, wipe the device and sell it.Here is the part that feels especially cruel.When you lose an iPhone, you may put a message on the lock screen with a phone number to call.
That feature can help a good person return your device.A scammer can use that same number to contact you.In one case described by the researchers, a stolen iPhone owner received a text shortly after the theft.
The message linked to a fake Apple-style website.The page showed what looked like a moving phone location on a map.
Then it asked for the phone's PIN code.Had the victim entered it, the thief would have gained control of the device.
That i...