Today, almost every Apple user has come across a fake email that appears to have been sent by Apple. We present to you a thorough guide to determine whether the email message truly originated from Apple, or is actually a scam targeted to gain information about your email account, Apple ID, or even worse – your credit card. While the process might seem highly-technical at first, we’re sure that most people will be able to understand this tutorial quickly and easily.
Most Frequent Emails Sent from Apple
Friendly From
Email Address
IP Address
Nature of Email
Safe
App Store
AppStore@new.itunes.com
17.xx.xx.xx
App Promotions, App Store Spotlight
✔
Apple
news@insideapple.apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Apple Products and release promotions
✔
Apple
noreply@email.apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Apple ID and iCloud Alerts
✔
Apple Beta Software Program
betaprogram@InsideApple.Apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Beta Software Updates
✔
Apple News
newsdigest@insideapple.apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Apple News Digest
✔
Apple Store
noreply@apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Appointment Follow Ups
✔
Apple Support
AppleSupport@insideapple.apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Surveys and Support Follow Ups
✔
Apple Support
AppleSupport@email.apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Product notifications
✔
Apple Support Communities Updates
discussions-updates@apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Apple Support Communities Updates
✔
Find My iPhone
noreply@insideicloud.icloud.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Find My iPhone Alerts
✔
iBooks
iBooks@new.itunes.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iBooks Newsletter
✔
iCloud
do_not_reply@icloud.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iCloud transactional emails
✔
iCloud
no_reply@me.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iCloud transactional emails
✔
iCloud
noreply@insideicloud.icloud.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iCloud Alerts (storage, Apple ID, etc.)
✔
iTunes
discover@new.itunes.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iTunes newsletter (Apps, Movies, etc.)
✔
iTunes
itunes@new.itunes.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iTunes Spotlight Newsletter
✔
iTunes Store
do_not_reply@itunes.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iTunes Billing and Store emails
✔
iTunes U
iTunesU@new.itunes.com
17.xx.xx.xx
iTunes U Newsletter
✔
no friendly from
noreply@apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Apple Support Community Notifications
✔
no friendly from
marketresearch@insideapple.apple.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Market Research Surveys
✔
no friendly from
postmaster@mac.com
17.xx.xx.xx
Delivery notifications
✔
We compiled the most frequent email messages sent from Apple. The table below shows that in all instances the sending IP address starts with the number 17 (e.g.  17.254.6.138,  17.171.37.29,  etc.). This quick check is the most effective way to validate any messages you might receive from Apple. This is because all IP addresses that follow 17.xx.xx.xx are owned and operated by Apple, Inc.
Secondly, all Apple messages contain “received: from” (e.g. nwk-txn-msbadger0504.apple.com). While this “received: from” field alone can be faked or spoofed, the combination of IP address and passing DKIM on the apple.com domain is a the highest security credential an email message can have.
How to view “Received: from” field or the sending IP address in iCloud, Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and AOL.
In iCloud Mail:
Double click the email message.
Click on the wheel icon.
Select “Show long headers.”
Look for “Received: from” under “Original-recipient” (e.g. msbadger0506.apple.com. [17.254.6.160])
In Gmail:
Select the message.
Click on the drop-down triangle in the top right corner.
Select “Show original.”
Look for “Received: from” (e.g. msbadger0506.apple.com (msbadger0506.apple.com. [17.254.6.160]))