Marjorie Polack

Q: What can I do about my email being hacked

2 days ago, my email was compromised.  Several people got unsolicited emails from Computer was locked until I followed online  instructions, and it seemed fixed. I changed my password.   I am running 10.7.5

But the same happened to our other Apple laptop, and we called the Apple Support phone number as it said online.  A man with foreign accent helped us by remote to fix things, but then he said it would be $129 to optimize the computer.  This alternate computer runs OS 10.6.3. We said no thanks, and he called back next day to sell again.

Are these people legitimate?  They sound like they are, and since I connected with the Apple support # that I saw online, I thought it was OK.   But our other laptop is now locked up again. Do you have any suggestions??? Any safe programs to download to fix this stuff.  Thanks, Marjorie

MacBook Pro (17-inch 2.4 GHz), Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Jun 29, 2016 10:02 AM

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Q: What can I do about my email being hacked

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  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Jun 29, 2016 10:11 AM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 10 (188,781 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 29, 2016 10:11 AM in response to Marjorie Polack

    Sour sounds like a scam. Maybe this will help:

    Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-8071

    You said "Several people got unsolicited emails from Computer was locked until I followed online  instructions, and it seemed fixed.".

    What do yo mean by the first part?

    What instructions did you follow? Just what did you do?.

    Could they have install software on your Mac?

     

    Safari in both 10.6. and 10.7 (as well as 10.8) have know security flaws and Apple stopped updating them.

  • by Meg St._Clair,Solvedanswer

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 29, 2016 2:09 PM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 9 (58,860 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 29, 2016 2:09 PM in response to Marjorie Polack

    If you just did an internet search for "Apple Support", it's likely that, especially if you used Google, the first item in the list was an ad for one of a number of rather shady operators. They tend to be very good at not actually saying they're Apple but making you think that they are.

     

    The only numbers you should use to contact Apple are the ones you'll find on this website (or, of course, any call back numbers someone from Apple gives you directly).

     

    Best of luck.

  • by Marjorie Polack,

    Marjorie Polack Marjorie Polack Jun 29, 2016 2:13 PM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 29, 2016 2:13 PM in response to Meg St._Clair

    Thanks for the input.  So far, it helped me solve the problem, reading the article and solution from the link you sent.  How aggravating to have your computer scammed,

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 29, 2016 5:15 PM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 9 (58,860 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 29, 2016 5:15 PM in response to Marjorie Polack

    On behalf of illaass who provided the link as well as myself, you're most welcome.

     

    (Hope that's ok, illaass!)

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Jun 30, 2016 7:06 AM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 9 (71,259 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 30, 2016 7:06 AM in response to Marjorie Polack

    You should erase and reformat your hard drive, then restore your computer from a backup made prior to when you allowed them access. Change your passwords and other critical information also. You don't know what software might have been installed.

  • by Marjorie Polack,

    Marjorie Polack Marjorie Polack Jun 30, 2016 7:09 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 30, 2016 7:09 AM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks for the tip.  I do have a backup on an external HD.  Can I erase and reformat the HD myself?  Is it difficult?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jun 30, 2016 8:11 AM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 9 (71,259 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 30, 2016 8:11 AM in response to Marjorie Polack

    You are welcome. Boot off the DVD and run Disk Utility Verify/Repair Disk and Repair Permissions until you get no errors.  Reformat the drive using Disk Utility/Erase Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Option button and select GUID. Then re-install the OS.

     

    When you reboot, use Setup Assistant to restore your data.

  • by Marjorie Polack,

    Marjorie Polack Marjorie Polack Jun 30, 2016 8:32 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 30, 2016 8:32 AM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks, When I get the guts to do it, I may try that.  Phew! sounds a little complicated!

  • by Marjorie Polack,

    Marjorie Polack Marjorie Polack Jun 30, 2016 9:10 AM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 30, 2016 9:10 AM in response to Marjorie Polack

    I just changed my password for email, and they suggest a 2 step verification after  2 days..  What is this and Is this worthwhile doing?

    Getting so I don't trust anything anymore after a scam.!!

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 30, 2016 9:17 AM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 9 (58,860 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 30, 2016 9:17 AM in response to Marjorie Polack

    See this article for more information:

     

    Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support

     

    Even if you're not using iCloud for your email, the principal remains the same. I have it on my Google account. When I log into Google from any device I haven't designated as trusted or when I use my Google credentials for a service, I get a notice on my phone with a code I have to enter. So, even if someone knew my Google password, unless they also had my phone, they couldn't get into my email.

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Jul 1, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Marjorie Polack
    Level 9 (53,951 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 1, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Marjorie Polack

    Realize until you do the erase and re-install you have no way of knowing if any new passwords you enter are not just being secretly sent off to the shady characters somewhere.  Who knows what they installed on your computer? Spyware? A keylogger?  You did the equivalent of going to a well know team of housebreakers and letting them install your home security system.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jul 1, 2016 6:39 AM in response to Limnos
    Level 9 (58,860 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 1, 2016 6:39 AM in response to Limnos

    Limnos wrote:

     

    Realize until you do the erase and re-install you have no way of knowing if any new passwords you enter are not just being secretly sent off to the shady characters somewhere.  Who knows what they installed on your computer? Spyware? A keylogger?  You did the equivalent of going to a well know team of housebreakers and letting them install your home security system.

    Do you think that's necessary if only their email was hacked?

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Jul 1, 2016 7:11 AM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 9 (53,951 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 1, 2016 7:11 AM in response to Meg St._Clair

    I am not sure their email was ever hacked.  Spammers have been able to harvest real e-mail addresses from other sources and insert these into the "sender" header of emails, I guess in an effort to lend veracity to the spam.  It has been a while but I used to get the occasional email out of the blue complaining I had e-mailed a person about some commercial product. Of course I hadn't but I could tell from the headers it was an old sub-domain my e-mail provider hasn't used since the mid-nineties. The spammers had probably harvested my address from a scientific discussion listserver to which I had posted a reply in 1996 and a former colleague had then posted the entire discussion to his web site.

     

    From a second reading of the entire topic I guess the OP did not let the people with the foreign accents actually do anything to the computer so an erase and install is probably not necessary.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jul 1, 2016 7:12 AM in response to Limnos
    Level 9 (58,860 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 1, 2016 7:12 AM in response to Limnos


    I was just curious on your thoughts on the matter. Thanks!