(Yicai Global) July 12 -- People need to be careful that they do not expose their Apple IDs or phone numbers online, as this can make them targets for fraudsters on FaceTime, the popular Apple app that allows people to talk by video chat, The Paper reported yesterday, citing a customer services staff member of the US tech giant.

"Users are advised not to accept video chat requests on FaceTime from strangers or to open messages from unknown numbers," the staff member said. People can be contacted on FaceTime by strangers, so long as the other person knows their Apple ID or phone numbers.

"Customers can also disable the FaceTime app or contact mobile network carriers to block such calls if they are worried,” the person said. “Customers are strongly advised to only download apps from official channels and to only browse legitimate websites. Otherwise, there are risks that their Apple ID and phone numbers might be revealed.”

A number of iPhone users across China have said on social media that they have been receiving FaceTime requests from people they don’t know. Some of these strangers claim to work for financial platforms and dupe them into sharing their screens and even transferring funds to other accounts. The fraudsters say that they need to transfer money in order to close accounts that are linked to loans otherwise their personal credit rating will be impacted.

People should under no circumstances give credence to calls from people claiming they are customer service staff, the Shanghai telecom network fraud center said in an article. They should visit the official website of platforms or call the official customer service number to verify the claims. They should refuse people's requests to add personal accounts or offers to help them perform tasks on their computers by sharing their screens.

Editor: Kim Taylor