untrappable

Apple ID email scam: is that "locked account" alert real?

Editorially reviewed · Last updated July 14, 2026

Yes — this is a scam. Apple never sends account alerts from "app1e-idverify.info."

Your Apple ID has been locked — action required within 24 hours
A
Apple Support
no-reply@app1e-idverify.info
10:42 AM
We detected an unusual sign-in to your Apple ID from a new device. For your security, your account has been locked. Verify your identity now to restore access, or it will be permanently disabled: app1e-idverify.info/unlock
Verify your Apple ID
The Email, as received

Other versions you might get: A fake "your Apple ID was used to buy an app," a receipt for a purchase you didn't make, or an iCloud-storage-full warning — all pushing you to a look-alike sign-in page.

What to do right now

  1. Don't tap the link or button, and don't call any number in it.
  2. Check your real account — open Settings on your iPhone, or type apple.com yourself and sign in. There won't be a lock.
  3. Report it. Forward to reportphishing@apple.com, then file at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
  4. Delete it and mark it as phishing.
  5. If you already entered your Apple ID and password, change your Apple ID password now from Settings, turn on two-factor authentication, and check for any devices or purchases you don't recognize.

How to make sure it never bites you

Phishing lands because your email address is on breached lists, so the same fake "locked account" alert keeps coming. Reduce the blast radius — turn on two-factor authentication and see how to lock down your accounts.

Untrappable · Public service advisory

Stop the next one at the source

You got this because your details are on lists that get bought, sold, and leaked. You can't unspill that, but you can make it useless to a scammer. Start with the free steps — they do most of the work.

Optional — if you'd rather it was handled for you

If you'd rather have it watched for you, an identity-protection service monitors your accounts, SSN, and the dark web, warns you the moment something new appears, and helps you recover if someone gets through.

See identity protection →

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Frequently asked

Does Apple ever email you to say your Apple ID is locked?
Not like this. The email exists to get you onto a fake sign-in page, and Apple describes the play directly: scammers “will send you to a fake website that looks like a real Apple sign-in page and insist that you verify your identity.” Apple's own boundary rules it out — “Apple will never ask you to log in to any website, or to tap Accept in the two-factor authentication dialog, or to provide your password, device passcode, or two-factor authentication code or to enter it into any website.” The FTC says the same about companies generally: “legitimate companies won't email or text with a link to update your payment information.” If something is genuinely wrong with your account, it shows up when you open Settings on your device or sign in at appleid.apple.com yourself. Go look. There won't be a lock.
How do I report a fake Apple email?
Forward it. Apple's instruction: “If you receive a suspicious email that looks like it's supposed to be from Apple, please forward it to reportphishing@apple.com.” If the same scam arrives as a text instead, Apple asks you to take a screenshot of the message and email the screenshot to the same address. Then file it with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, mark it as phishing in your mail app so the filter learns, and delete it. Don't reply, and don't tap anything in it first — not even to unsubscribe.
I clicked the link and entered my Apple ID password. What now?
Take the account back before they do. Change your Apple Account password right now from Settings on your own device — not from any link in the email — and confirm two-factor authentication is on. Check your signed-in devices and recent purchases for anything you don't recognise. If a scammer then calls or messages asking you to turn two-factor off to “secure” the account, that's the second half of the same attack: “Apple will never ask you to disable any security feature on your device or on your account.” Reused that password elsewhere? Change it there too. If you also handed over card, bank, or Social Security details, the FTC's route is IdentityTheft.gov, which gives you steps based on exactly what you lost. And if you opened an attachment, update your security software and run a scan.

Related scams

Sources

A public service

Help protect someone else

Scams spread because people stay quiet about them. If this could have fooled you, it can fool someone you know — a parent, a friend, the family group chat. Passing it on is the easiest good thing you'll do today. It's safe to forward, and stands on its own as a record for a bank or the police.