Think someone hacked your iTunes account to purchase apps? Look carefully

Stomper Shorty thought someone had hacked into her iTunes account and used it to purchase an app, when in reality it was something more scheming. 

She received an email which looked like it was from iTunes Store this morning (Aug 25) at 4.56am for a purchase of £59.99 (about S$107). 

Thinking someone had managed to hack into her account, she quickly contacted her bank -- only to be told that no such transaction had occurred.'

She said, "Shocked that it's from Luxembourg. Luxembourg is like red flag country in the finance world. Called the bank they said no transaction occurred."

The email urges the account holder to 'cancel and manage subscriptions', which might be what some would be tempted to do to get rid of the purchase they did not make.

A closer look at the email address shows a string of random numbers and letters, showing its true nature as a phishing attempt. 

Such emails attempt to phish for your personal details. When you click on the links provided in the email, you will be prompted key in your login and passwords.

Apple has urged users to report such incidents. "If you receive what you believe to be a phishing email purporting to be from Apple, please send it to reportphishing@apple.com," it said.

"'Phishers' create elaborate websites that look similar to iTunes, but their sole purpose is to collect your account information," Apple Support added.

"The iTunes Store will never ask you to provide personal information or sensitive account information (such as passwords or credit card numbers) via email."

The Stomper added that her friend also received the same email. 

Here's what to do when you receive such emails:

1. DO NOT click on any of the links

2. Check the email address of the sender

3. DO NOT key in any personal information when prompted to 'update' or 'cancel' your fake purchase

4. Report phishing attempts to Apple

5. If it runs out to be a real purchase made by a hacker, contact your bank and change your passwords