Security firm Symantec is warning users about a number of iCloud scams following the leaking of naked photos alleged to feature celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Rihanna.
Hackers are said to have targeted Apple’s cloud service through phishing scams over email and text messages, as well as exploiting the news on social media to make money through affiliate programmes.
Satnam Narang, security response manager at Symantec, said: "Whether or not iCloud was the point of compromise in this incident, scammers have been interested in stealing these credentials for some time.
"Users should also be wary of emails or text messages claiming to be from Apple support, security, or protection groups."
Apple customers are told to be wary of phishing emails asking for login details to be updated before sending them to illegitimate sites in order to collect credentials.
Similar text messages have also been found that threaten to lock users out of their Apple accounts if they do not respond, in what is known as SMSishing or text phishing.
Scammers are also replying to relevant tweets, such as those posted by the actress Victoria Justice, with phoney links to celebrity news site TMZ that send users to another site and asks them to install a Flash video player.
"Because the person responsible for sharing these images stated that they would have more to show in the coming days, we strongly encourage users not to click on links that offer additional photos or video footage of these celebrities," Narang added.
