It’s A SCAM: iPhone Users Are Seeing This Weird Calendar Alert In Illinois

If your iPhone calendar has suddenly filled up with random alerts, fake events, or scary messages telling you something is wrong with your phone, you’re not alone. Apple users across the country are reporting a surge in fake calendar invites that look official but are actually spam.

Why These Fake Calendar Alerts Are a Big Deal

The good news: this isn’t malware, and your iPhone isn’t hacked.

The bad news: these spam calendar invites are extremely annoying and can be tricky to remove if you don’t know where to look.

Unlike most scams, these alerts don’t need to pass through the App Store. They show up directly in your Calendar app and send notifications like real events. That means your phone can suddenly buzz nonstop with reminders you never agreed to.

Because they look like legitimate calendar events, a lot of users panic — especially when the alerts claim your device is infected or that you’ve “won” something.

How These Spam Invites End Up on Your iPhone

In most cases, the spam appears after someone accidentally taps a bad link on a website, email, or text message. That link quietly prompts the user to subscribe to a calendar — often without realizing it.

Once subscribed, the spammer can send unlimited events straight to your calendar.

To remove it, start here:

Go to Settings > Apps > Calendar > Calendar Accounts > Subscribed Calendars

Look for anything you don’t recognize

Delete the suspicious subscription

Some users have shared alternate fixes. One Apple user suggested opening the event, copying the sender’s email address, pasting it into your Mail app, then blocking and deleting it.

You can also remove it directly inside the Calendar app by tapping Calendars at the bottom, finding the suspicious calendar, clicking the “i”, and confirming it’s junk.

If alerts still stick around, you may need to offload and reinstall the Calendar app through Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Calendar.

What You Should Do Going Forward

The best defense is caution. Keep your iOS updated, don’t click urgent-looking alerts, and never interact with messages claiming you’ve won a prize or that your phone is infected.