Identify legitimate emails from the App Store or iTunes Store

If you’re not sure whether an email about an App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store or Apple Music purchase is legitimate, these tips may help.

Scammers will often try to trick you into sharing personal or financial information by sending you messages or links to websites that may look like they’re from Apple, but their actual purpose is to steal your account information. Some phishing emails will ask you to click on a link to update your account information. Others may look like a receipt for a purchase made in the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store or for Apple Music, that you’re certain you didn’t make.

Never enter your account information on websites linked from these messages, and never download or open attachments included within them.

Is this email legitimate?

If you receive an email about an App Store or iTunes Store purchase, and you’re not sure whether it is real, you can look for a couple of things that can help confirm that the message is from Apple.

Genuine purchase receipts – from purchases in the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store or Apple Music – include your current billing address, which scammers are unlikely to have. You can also review your App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store or Apple Music purchase history.

Emails about your App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store or Apple Music purchases will never ask you to provide this information over email:

• National Insurance Number

• Mother’s maiden name

• Full credit card number

• Credit card CCV code

Find out more about social engineering schemes, such as phishing and other scams

Update your account information safely

If you receive an email asking you to update your account or payment information, only do so in Settings directly on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch; in iTunes or the App Store on your Mac; or in iTunes on a PC.

To update your password for the Apple Account that you use for purchases, do so only in Settings on your device or at account.apple.com.

Find out more about security and your Apple Account

If you’ve received or acted on a possible phishing message:

If you’ve received a suspicious email, please forward it to reportphishing@apple.com. If you’re on a Mac, select the email and choose Forward As Attachment from the Message menu.

If you think you might have entered personal information such as a password or credit card info on a scam website, immediately change your Apple Account password.