Asia Tech Wire (Nov 1) -- Chinese police have reminded Apple users to turn off the FaceTime feature after frequent FaceTime scam cases in several places.
Recently, Chinese cities such as Hangzhou and Nanchang have witnessed a number of fraud cases in which suspects utilized the FaceTime feature on iPhones, sparking widespread concern in the community.
Hangzhou police's anti-fraud center said that fraudsters used FaceTime video calls, posing as law enforcement and judiciary staff or WeChat customer service, among other identities, to lure victims into clicking on illegal links or turning on the screen-sharing feature in order to steal personal information or guide money transfers.
For example, a man surnamed Lin in Hangzhou was transferred more than 300,000 yuan because he was gullible enough to believe scammers, and a woman surnamed Lu in Nanchang also nearly suffered financial losses due to a FaceTime video call.
FaceTime is a built-in video call application for iPhones with a screen-sharing feature. Fraudsters can arbitrarily change FaceTime nicknames, posing as staff from official organizations, creating panic and affecting victims' judgment.
Once victims open screen sharing, all the operations and information on their phones will be synchronized to the fraudsters, including SMS, WeChat, bank payment passwords and other sensitive information, thus bringing serious economic losses to the victims.
In response to the issue, Apple customer service said that generally official organizations will not contact individuals through FaceTime, so "for users who do not regularly use this feature, it is recommended to turn off the feature to avoid potential risks."
Meanwhile, Apple customer service also reminded users to pay special attention not to answer unfamiliar calls when using FaceTime.
As for the issue that FaceTime nicknames can be edited at will, Apple customer service said it will feedback similar issues upwards, but it is uncertain whether the feature will be upgraded or modified in the future.
In this regard, Chinese police also strongly recommend that Apple users turn off the FaceTime feature, especially those who use it infrequently.
Police pointed out that since last year, there has been a gradual increase in the number of fraud cases committed using the FaceTime feature.
Prior to that, police in several parts of China found that some fraudsters used the iMessage feature on iPhones to commit fraud, and therefore advised Apple users to turn off the feature.
iMessage is an instant messaging tool developed by Apple that uses end-to-end encryption technology, allowing users to send text, images or links to any phone number or Apple ID email address.
