Apple users targeted by phishing scams

It looks like glitches in Apple's MobileME rollout and the accompanying user frustration have created opportunities for phishing scams. I think Apple has already burned through their security goodwill. It's time for the company to step up and start dealing with the rapidly emerging threat that targets its customers.

From The Register:

Data obtained by CardCops, a credit card protection service owned by the Affinion Group, shows sensitive information belonging to several hundred people with Mac.com email addresses being traded in underground forums frequented by identity thieves. The details include social security numbers, birth dates, mothers' maiden names, credit card numbers and other sensitive information.

The graphic to the right, which has been edited to remove personally identifying details, shows some of the data that's been available.

The information was phished using emails that began circulating around the same time Apple began its ill-fated transition from Mac.com to Me.com. The scams bore subjects such as "Billing problem." Following the link as recently as Tuesday while using Apple's Safari browser, we were taken to an authentic-looking page purporting to belong to Apple. It asked users to reinstate their accounts by entering a dizzying array of personal details. (Interestingly, while Internet Explorer warned us the page was a scam, neither Safari nor Firefox flagged it.) [From The Register: Apple faithful snared in phishing scam targeting Mac.com users]