Khaberni - Cybersecurity researchers have warned of a scam targeting iPhone and iPad users by exploiting the calendar invitation feature, which does not require the installation of any applications or malware on the device.
The trick involves sending fake calendar invitations that flood the victims' devices with fake alerts that look official, aiming to provoke anxiety or entice users to share their personal information, such as passwords or banking data.
Security experts explained that the attack typically begins when the user inadvertently clicks on a malicious link while browsing the internet, which automatically subscribes them to a hidden calendar. Then, the fraudsters can send an unlimited number of notifications directly to the device.
These alerts appear in various forms, such as urgent security warnings, notifications of a supposed prize win, or fake messages, increasing the likelihood of them being believed, especially since calendar subscriptions do not go through the App Store, making them look trustworthy and difficult to stop.
Researchers noted that this type of fraud is increasingly widespread, benefiting from attackers' attempts to bypass traditional security systems in app stores. Security experts confirmed that Apple never sends virus warnings or security messages through the calendar app.
Experts advise Apple device users not to engage with suspicious notifications or click on the unknown calendar invitations, and to review calendar settings immediately upon noticing any unusual alerts.
In most cases, the problem is due to an unwanted subscription to a calendar, which can be verified by going to: Settings > Applications > Calendar > Calendar Accounts > Shared Calendars, and then deleting any unknown subscription to stop notifications.
Suspicious subscriptions can also be removed directly from within the calendar app, by opening the app, pressing the "Calendar" option at the bottom of the screen, selecting the unknown subscription, pressing the information icon (i), and hiding it as unwanted mail when the option appears.
Users on the r/Apple forum on Reddit shared similar experiences, with one stating, "Using calendar events to communicate with users is a clear indication that it's an attempt at fraud and not a real hack." Others advised removing unknown subscriptions and enabling manual approval of calendar invitations instead of adding them automatically from email messages.
Some users pointed out that spam invites could continue to appear in the calendar even after moving them to the junk mail folder, necessitating manual deletion and calling on Apple to address this issue.
