Apple helps safeguard users from scams and fraud while protecting personal data

Messages

Call Screening

Tips for Recognising and Avoiding Social Engineering Scams

Apple's Ongoing Commitment

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  October 10, 2025 UPDATE Apple helps safeguard users from scams and fraud while protecting personal data New features in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and watchOS 26 further protect users' communications Apple products are designed with multiple layers of privacy and security from the beginning to help protect user data and to keep users in control of their communications, including features that minimise opportunities for scammers to target Apple users. Building on the foundation of protections built into Apple's platforms, the release of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and watchOS 26 introduces new features that further help to protect users' communications, including Call Screening and on-device spam protection. Here are some of the new protections built into Apple devices and software, and additional steps that users can take to keep their devices, data, and financial information safe. Messages With iOS 26, users can now screen messages from unknown senders, offering more control over who appears in their conversation list. Users can opt in to have messages from unknown senders appear in a dedicated folder where they can mark the sender as known by tapping Mark as Known or delete the conversation. Built-in spam filtering in Messages automatically routes spam and junk messages directly to a dedicated spam folder. The categorisation and filtering of messages happens on device to protect user privacy. Users can also easily report a message to Apple as spam and block the sender at any time, which permanently deletes the message from a user's iPhone. Messages will automatically disable links in messages filtered as spam to help prevent users from clicking on suspicious links. From its introduction in 2011, iMessage has been built with end-to-end encryption to help keep users' communications private and secure, meaning only the sender and recipient can read the messages as they are sent between devices - and not even Apple can access them. Apple's approach to on-device processing and end-to-end-encryption in iMessage provides users with important scam protections without sacrificing privacy and security. Call Screening Scams and unwanted communications can also come from phone calls. iOS 26 introduced Call Screening, an on-device feature that helps users quickly decide if an incoming call from an unknown number is important or not. Building on Live Voicemail, users can enable Call Screening, which automatically screens calls from unknown numbers by requesting a name and the reason for the call before a user's phone rings. Once the caller provides this information, the user's phone will ring, and then the user can choose to answer or ignore the call. Users can also silence calls from unknown numbers and send them directly to voicemail. Tips for Recognising and Avoiding Social Engineering Scams In addition to providing industry-leading user protections that help prevent scams and fraudulent activities on its communications platforms, Apple also offers educational resources to help users recognise and avoid social engineering attempts like phishing messages, suspicious phone calls, and other scams. Social engineering is a type of targeted attack that relies on impersonation, deception, and manipulation to gain access to a user's personal data. In this attack, scammers will pretend to be representatives of a trusted company or entity over the phone or through other communication methods. Scammers will often use sophisticated tactics to persuade a user to hand over personal details such as sign-in credentials, government identification, security codes, and financial information. Here are some tactics users can watch for to help identify a social engineering attack: The sender's email or phone number doesn't match the name of the company that it claims to be from. The email or phone number used to contact a user is different from the one that a user provided to that company. A link in a message looks legitimate, but the URL doesn't match the company's website. The message looks significantly different from other messages that a user has received from the company. The message requests personal information, like a credit card number or account password. The message is unsolicited and contains an attachment or link that looks suspicious Apple users can also report suspicious messages, calls, or emails to [email protected] or [email protected]. To report spam or other suspicious messages received through Messages, users can tap Report Spam under the message and also block unwanted messages and calls. If a user is suspicious about an unexpected message, call, or request for personal information - such as an email address, phone number, password, security code, or money - it's safer to presume that it's a scam; the user should directly contact the company or entity if necessary. Apple's Ongoing Commitment Apple remains dedicated to providing industry-leading protections and educational resources that help users stay informed and in control of their everyday communications. Press Contacts Brett Galvin Apple [email protected] (65) 9649 7784 Izzie Saleh Ali Apple [email protected] (65) 8876 5933 Copy text

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