Apple customers warned of scam that's fleeced hundreds of dollars from users

Apple customers are being warned to be more vigilant, after several customers have complained of having hundreds of dollars taken from their bank accounts.

One Apple customer had nearly $600 taken from her account of the space of around a week, with the payment made to Apple Sydney from her account.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said its highly likely to be a classic phishing scam, with the payment going to what looks to be a legitimate Apple account.

Her bank, ASB, is investigating.

In a statement the bank said:  "We are aware some customers are experiencing unauthorised activity on their cards via this merchant and we have measures in place to minimise the impact from this activity."

Another customer, Kelly Armitage, wrote on Facebook: "Word of warning everyone. If you have weird charges on your credit card that come up "APPLE NZ GCSSYDNEY" then chances are you've been scammed"

"Despite thinking I was seriously IT security conscious, I was duped and had $200+ taken over multiple small transactions that look like any normal Apple charge.

"At first I was worried I was racking up charges through my addiction to Spider Solitaire and Candy Crush, but no – it's a scam. Be careful out there everyone!"

MBIE Consumer Protection Manager Mark Hollingsworth says they are aware if reports over the last couple of weeks of people with similar issues.

Mr Hollingsworth said it's likely people have been emailed and told to put their card details into what seems like a legitimate website.

He said people need to be aware of these types of scams.

"It's ok to be suspicious of anything that asks for personal details. Large corporations usually don't ask for personal information," he said.

However one person 1 NEWS spoke to said she was certain she had not replied to any email from what appeared to be Apple.

Apple did not respond to email requests. The company offers advice for what to do if you've been scammed and how to avoid it on its website.