{"id":375598,"date":"2026-04-12T07:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T07:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375598\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T07:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T07:18:09","slug":"your-photos-will-be-deleted-apple-users-warned-over-nasty-icloud-storage-scam-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375598\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Your photos will be deleted\u2019: Apple users warned over \u2018nasty\u2019 iCloud storage scam | Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a while you\u2019ve been getting messages from Apple<\/a> saying \u201cyour iCloud storage is full\u201d. They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take aren\u2019t being uploaded.<\/p>\n

You have been resisting Apple\u2019s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of 99p a month for more storage. But it seems that you can\u2019t keep putting off the inevitable: you have received an email which says your iCloud account has been blockedand your photos and videos will be deleted very soon. To keep them you need to upgrade immediately, it says.<\/p>\n

The next day you get another email saying that as you have not responded, if you do not take action, all your data will be wiped on the stated date.<\/p>\n

A scam email telling the recipient their Cloud storage is full. Photograph: Supplied<\/p>\n

The emails include a button you can click on to upgrade your iCloud storage. But the threatening messages are a scam impersonating Apple\u2019s iCloud service, and the criminals behind them are trying to convince you to click on a malicious link.<\/p>\n

The link would take you through to something that might look genuine but is in fact a phishing website, designed to harvest people\u2019s bank and personal details.<\/p>\n

If you provide your bank details or make a payment, the crooks may then attempt to steal (more) money or sell your details to other criminals on the \u201cdark web\u201d.<\/p>\n

A genuine email from Apple telling a user their iCloud storage is full.<\/p>\n

This con may appear convincing because the scam emails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage and urging you to upgrade.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Apple user needs to know about this nasty scam doing the rounds,\u201d says the UK consumer body Which? in a recent Facebook post warning of the fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What it looks like<\/p>\n

There are lots of variations of this scam. One email seen by the Guardian says in the subject line: \u201cWe\u2019ve blocked your account! Your photos and videos will be deleted on [date].\u201d It is headlined \u201ciCloud Storage Alert\u201d and goes on to say: \u201cStorage limit reached \u2026 your iCloud account has reached its maximum storage capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another says: \u201cYour payment method has expired!\u2026 Your cloud service has been disabled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the scam emails are slightly less scary-looking \u2013 for example, one headlined \u201cPayment failed for your Cloud storage renewal\u201d.<\/p>\n

In pretty much all cases there is a button you can click on to \u201cupdate\u201d your payment method or \u201cmanage\u201d your storage.<\/p>\n

A scam email telling the recipient their Cloud storage is full.<\/p>\n

If you do not respond, the scammers may try to turn the screw by sending a \u201cfinal warning\u201d email. One that the Guardian has seen has this subject line: \u201cWe have tried to contact you several times before, but we have not received any response. If you have not resolved your issue today, all your data will be completely deleted on [date], including your photos and videos.\u201d<\/p>\n

As is frequently the case with scams, the email address of the sender often looks a bit \u201coff\u201d. Perhaps the domain (the part of an email address that comes after the @ symbol) looks wrong. Some mention Ecuador or have \u201c.biz.ua\u201d in the domain \u2013 the latter generally refers to Ukrainian business-related domains \u2013 while Apple is based in California and its European HQ is in Ireland.<\/p>\n

The other giveaway is poor spelling and grammar. One email we saw was headlined \u201cYour account may expires today\u201d.<\/p>\n

What to do<\/p>\n

Bin or ignore these emails, and do not click on any links. If you do click on a link, do not share any personal details.<\/p>\n

Scam emails can be reported by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk<\/a>, and emails impersonating iCloud can be sent to reportphishing@apple.com<\/a> and\/or abuse@icloud.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another scam email telling the recipient their iCloud storage is full.<\/p>\n

When we approached Apple, it directed us to a webpage<\/a> that includes information on to avoid scams that target your account and devices.<\/p>\n

If you do hand over your account details, contact your bank once you realise your mistake.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very easy to check the amount of iCloud storage that you have left manually. On an iPhone<\/a>, simply go to Settings, then iCloud.<\/p>\n

If your storage is full and you want to buy more, simply click on the \u201cUpgrade\u201d button, and the genuine Apple will be delighted to take your cash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For a while you\u2019ve been getting messages from Apple saying \u201cyour iCloud storage is full\u201d. They say you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-375598","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}