Report: Scammers are targeting over-heating iPhone 15 issue with fake recall scam
Scammers are a fast and opportunistic group who are now looking to cash in on Apple’s admitted iPhone 15 overheating issues, according to a new report.
In a fascinating and worrying story at Mashable, a tech reporter was targeted by scammers who, posing as Verizon representatives, tried to convince her to send her new iPhone 15 before she had even received and unpacked it. They said they had good reason to believe the phone she received was one of those that would overheat.
Let’s rewind for a moment. A few weeks ago, some iPhone 15 owners started reporting that the phone was getting too hot. In my own iPhone 15 review, I noted that the new phone “can get a little hot.” It was nothing special. New iPhones often run hot because they’re working in the background to restore your entire backup, a process that can take days (depending on how often you have access to good Wi-Fi).
Apple admitted this, but also noted that, in addition to third-party background app activity, there was an iOS 17 bug that “affected some users.” All this possibly caused ‘overloading of the system’. iOS 17.1, which should be released soon, will address this iOS bug.
However, the scammers have a different plan and, by posing as legitimate airline representatives, try to convince unsuspecting users that Apple is a to remind for the iPhone 15 to address the heating issues.
To be clear, Apple has not issued any such recall.
Doing the right thing
However, the Mashable reporter is a smart cookie and contacted Verizon directly to find out exactly what was going on. This is good advice for almost all telephone fraud. If someone calls you and claims you owe money to Amazon, or that your bank account has been breached, hang up and call those companies directly.
The most unbelievable and brazen part of this story is that the scammers sent a FedEx truck to pick up the reporter’s iPhone 15. She didn’t hand it over, but if she had, the report says it would have gone to Florida, not Apple’s returns center.
While we have no evidence that this scam is widespread, there is a good chance that some iPhone 15 owners and buyers are being targeted.
Remember that scammers will almost always call you, don’t give them what they want and then call the real company yourself. As for your iPhone 15, Apple has an iOS 17 update it wants to give you and you should definitely accept it.