I have lost my phone at the airport and I can trace its movements through Found my Phone. I now receive a notification with the Find my phone icon telling me that my [hone has been found. I s this genuine or is it a scam?
iPhone 12 mini
It is a scam. And they likely asked you to enter your credentials to prove the phone is yours, which if you do, you'll give them what they need to wipe the phone and use it themselves or sell it to someone. Apple doesn't send messages about lost or stolen devices.
It is a scam. And they likely asked you to enter your credentials to prove the phone is yours, which if you do, you'll give them what they need to wipe the phone and use it themselves or sell it to someone. Apple doesn't send messages about lost or stolen devices.
It's possible that your phone was found.....by the wrong person....but Apple does not get involved with lost or stolen phones, so if the message had any reference to Apple, you know it was a scam.
If the message asks you to do anything, like click on a link or provide more information, you know that it is a scam.
So, what exactly did the message say?
Thanks Bob and Lobsterghost1. I suspected as much but wanted to be sure. The message as an email was simply iPhone 12 was found near Frankfurt Airport 654151 at 23:31 CET. Your iPhone last reported location will be available for 24 hours in the Find My App on an iPhone, iPad or Mac, or icloud.com/find
Your iPhone last reported location will be available for 24 hours in the Find My App on an iPhone, iPad or Mac, or icloud.com/find
If you log on to Find My, does the phone's location appear near the Frankfort airport on the map?
This might be a notification that another iPhone or Mac picked up the Bluetooth signal that the iPhone was sending out to update the location on Find My.
You were not asked to log on to another non-Apple site or do anything like that or click a link, were you? In other words, it was simply an informational message, correct?
The scams are always messages asking you to click on a strange link or log on to another strange site and remove your phone from Find My or provide your passcode, and other log on information.
You may be able to see where the phone is located in another day or two if another iPhone picks up the signal from your phone and forwards that location information.
If a phone is stolen, the first thing that the thief will usually do is wrap the phone in aluminum foil to prevent the phone from either sending or receiving a signal.
No point in me repeating what Bob Timmons wrote, but he is correct. I was assuming you got a scam message from whoever had your phone and they wanted you to validate the phone is yours by entering your credentials. What you got is very likely what Bob suggests.
As was I assuming that it was the typical scam. As the additional information appeared, it changed things.
If the user puts his phone in Lost Mode and provides some basic contact information, this might one of those rare times when an honest person who finds the phone does the right thing.
Bob Timmons wrote:
As was I assuming that it was the typical scam. As the additional information appeared, it changed things.
If the user puts his phone in Lost Mode and provides some basic contact information, this might one of those rare times when an honest person who finds the phone does the right thing.
Wouldn't that be something? As we both know, 99.99999% of lost or stolen phones are never recovered. It would give me hope to see someone get their phone back!
I also received a short note as the same time telling me that the iPhone was found as a direct notification accompanied by the Green Find My icon.
Fingers crossed.
thanku
Lost iphone been found notification
