A Family Sharing App Might not be so Much Fun When it’s Hacked!

When it comes to apps, both Android and Apple devices have a plethora of options to choose from. For a long time, Apple has been considered a superior service provider, but recently an Apple family sharing app feature has led to some trouble.

Actually, it’s led to a lot of trouble as scammers in China have been hijacking Apple IDs to make purchases by using Apple device’s “Family Sharing” feature. App hacking has become a problem that the online community should be paying particular attention to.

The Family Sharing App Feature – What you Need to Know

To help families share apps and music, Apple introduced a “Family Sharing” feature in 2014, which has worked quite well – until now that is. Now, opportunistic criminals have found a way to lock people out of their own Apple accounts. They then use their IDs to make in-app purchases and also to buy iTunes gift cards making use of this “Family Sharing” feature. By the time the activity is noticed, it’s too late. The money has been spent.

While Apple is the focus of attention now, it must be noted that the problem of hacked apps is not significant only to this particular brand!

Are you at Risk & What can you do?

The first thing that you need to do is check whether your Family Sharing feature is turned on or not. If it is on and you aren’t using it, check the settings when you try to turn it off. Is the feature linked to any other person? If it is, and you didn’t set it up that way, a call to Apple customer care is a must. You will need to have that contact removed!

The next step is to ensure that you have Two-Factor authentication set up. This means that no changes can be made on your account without 2 security steps being successfully passed.

A third step that you can take if you are actually using the Family Sharing app and don’t want to turn it off, is to ensure that you set up the security features correctly. Make sure that the app will send a confirmation message that must be accepted by you, on your device, if any purchase is attempted.

Apple ID Hacking is Common and Can be Avoided

Many people have reported falling victim to this particular scam but have no idea how it happened as there seems to be no suspicious activity on their account.

A simple explanation for this is that when someone is added to the Family Sharing feature, your device will receive a message requesting confirmation. This appears as a pop-up screen message and is often accidentally confirmed/accepted as it’s misunderstood or creates confusion. It is important to deny any messages requesting confirmation if you don’t understand them or they take you by surprise.

Also, make sure that your password is secure and regularly changed and that family members are notified. This will ensure that hackers cannot guess your password and if they do gain access to your password, they will lose access to your account when the password is changed.

Technology can be highly beneficial to our daily lives, but it must be used responsibly, especially if data security or the security of your personal information is important to you. If you are an Apple user, turn on two-factor authentication now and make sure that your account hasn’t been used to make suspicious purchases.