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September 5, 2012 - Just imagine getting an email message from a company you trust that provides you with a copy of your bill. Now just imagine that the bill is for hundreds of dollars or more that you know that you didn't spend. Some iTunes customers are now facing exactly that scenario. Turns out that the messages are nothing more than a phishing scam.
The way the scam works is like this. You get an email message that appears to come from Apple iTunes. The body of the message is a large bill for downloads that you never purchased. The bill also contains a link that allows you to dispute the charges. Clicking on the link is when your real troubles begin.
Anyone who decides to dispute the charges by clicking on the link in the email message will very quickly find that their computer has been infected with a computer virus. The virus can do damage to the data stored on your computer and may also allow the scam artists to steal highly personal information from you.
While the email messages do appear to be legitimate, the first clue that you may be being targeted by scam artists I simply the large bill. Don't panic. If you find yourself in this position to first thing you should do is check with your credit card company to see if the charges have actually shown up on your credit card statement. If they haven't, then the chances are that you are being targeted in this scam. Simply delete the message without clicking on the links it contains. You may also want to send a copy of the message to customer service at iTunes to make them aware of the issue.
This is also a good time for us to remind our readers that having a good antivirus program on your computer, with up-to-date virus definitions can be a real life saver in situations like this. There is a very good chance that if you are using antivirus software that even if you do click on the link in the email message, your antivirus program can prevent your computer from becoming infected. Without that protection, there is an equally good chance that the only way that you will have to fix your computer is to hire a professional and even that may not work.
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Fraud and Scams 
