Apple iPhone X ALERT - Do not click on this FREE ’offer’ on Facebook

The Apple iPhone X is arguably the most anticipated smartphone release of the year, with the futuristic gadget out on in a few weeks time.

Fans will be able to get their hands on Apple’s huge revamp of their traditional iPhone design on the November 3 release date.

The iPhone X will cost £999 for the 64GB model or £1,149 for the 256GB version.

Experts are already predicting a long waiting list for fans hoping to get their hands on the iPhone X.

And scammers look to be trying to take advantage of the huge demand and interest surrounding the upcoming Apple gadget.

ZeroFOX said they had found 532 fake social media accounts trying to trick Apple fans who are hoping to get their hands on an iPhone X.

The social media security company said these accounts were discovered on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Most of these scams offer a “giveaway” of either the Apple iPhone 8, Apple iPhone 8 Plus or Apple iPhone X.

Facebook users are then encouraged to click on a malicious link, follow a profile, or like and share certain content.

In some occasions, users are asked to enter personal information to take part in the fake offer.

This sensitive information can then be used to hack an account or, in the worst case, carry out identity theft on a victim.

In other cases, users tempted by the ‘free iPhone’ scam have to click a link to an external site which installs malware of a victim’s device.

ZeroFOX outlined the iPhone scams in a blog post on their website.

They said: “Attackers regularly ‘newsjack,’ tailoring their attacks to whatever is trending online and in the media, be it a holiday, the latest gaming fad, a new popular product or internet trend. 

“Social media is abused by scammers to spread these attacks to the broadest possible audience, all while tailoring their group of targets using hashtags or abusing the publicly available follower list of popular brands, celebrities and other accounts. 

“Scammers can rapidly segment their victim population, customise the attack, build fake accounts and launch their scam campaign at scale.”

ZeroFOX have offered social media users advice to ensure they don’t get snared by one of these iPhone scams.

The biggest bit of advice is to be cautious of any free iPhone offers people see on social media.

ZeroFOX said: “Any account offering an iPhone giveaway may be fraudulent. Do not trust these accounts or the links they promote. 

“Hover over URLs to get a preview and look closely for impersonator URLs with characters meant to look like others.”

They added: “Beware of brand impersonations. 

“Unless it has the blue verified checkmark, do not click anything that accounts posts as it is likely an impersonation of the real profile.”

Express.co.uk have contacted Instagram and Facebook for comment.

While a YouTube spokesperson told Express.co.uk said that the video streaming site has clear policies on spam and deceptive practices.

The free iPhone scams are a breach of Facebook’s Commerce policy, so if you do stumble across one ensure you report the post.

The news comes as pre-orders for the Apple iPhone X will be opening soon.

On the Apple and EE website you’ll be able to pre-order the iPhone X from October 27, ahead of the November 3 release date.

All new plans from EE come with six months of Apple Music for free.