Level 1

5 points

IPhone is hacked, please help

I hope I will receive useful

answers here.

Please do not reply if you are merely going to say “iPhone cannot be remote hacked.”

My IPhone is somehow enrolled in the beta program, however I did not do this enrollment and I am unable to unenroll my device. When I click unenroll at the bottom of the screen, nothing happens.

additionally, my iPhone iMessages are enrolled in Business Chat, and I am unable to view any information regarding the enrollment.

My provider (Verizon) cannot see on their end either, and all chat sessions terminate whenever I begin to send detailed information to support. Phone calls are impossible, they either do not go through or are dropped as soon as I start speaking to a rep.

when I go in person to the store, their computer always “goes down” when I attempt to get support there, making it impossible.

My analytics are a mess, and when I attempt to search lines of code to gain understanding, nothing comes up.

the police are also worthless and have no clue what to do or how to help.

Posted on Jan 30, 2021 2:09 PM

Top-ranking reply

MrHoffman

Level 10

147,461 points

Posted on Feb 17, 2021 8:07 AM

iPhone can be remotely hacked, particularly down-recision iPhones. It’s rare, usually reserved for dissidents, the seriously affluent, those with classified or sensitive data access, a path to same, and similar—but it happens. Persistent malware is rarer.

I’m skeptical about this persistence generally, as your reported discussions with law enforcement imply you’re not a likely target for this sort of malware. I’d wonder if there’s a different explanation.

And searching logs and analytics tends to be a poor approach, more generally. That’s where you look after you’ve identified a specific issue or breach or pattern, as the logs and analytics just bury the reader with data,. Use of automated tooling and scans are typical. Manual scanning of logs tends to be somewhere around futile, unfortunately—you’ve already looked at your logged data, and haven’t found what you’re after, clearly. And that automated scanning really only works after the search targets are known, and what’s happened here—if anything—is not yet known. There’s a whole lot of haystacks on the way to finding any potential needles.

If this iPhone has actually been hacked to the degree of persistence that you seem believe has happened here, then replace it. That’ll also resolve any latent hardware problems that might exist. Given that replacement apparently didn’t work, there seem to be other hardware issues, or other software or other host-computer issues involved, or somebody locally with device access and knowledge of at least passcodes that’s contributing to the issue.

TL;DR: As a guess, I’d wonder whether any installed “security” and “privacy” apps on these various iPhone devices and also the same sorts of “helpful” “security” or “privacy” apps installed on Mac and/or on Windows are contributing to the mess. Clean-install Windows or macOS somewhere, don’t add anything past iTunes on Windows, don’t add apps to macOS, patch to current, and then use that to reset this iPhone device. After the reset and reload, change passcodes, passwords, etc.

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43 replies

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2021 2:26 PM in response to hsshall

Additionally, my phone seems to be using international or outside the US browsers... when I have searched analytic terms, this is what I get from Apple.

and you can see the web address appears to be from Mexico or something.

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,414 points

Jan 30, 2021 5:51 PM in response to hsshall

hsshall wrote:

when I go in person to the store, their computer always “goes down” when I attempt to get support there, making it impossible.

Where are you located and what store is this where this hsppens?

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2021 9:55 PM in response to Myalynn811

I have gone to two different Apple Stores in two different states and received zero help, was told to “go to the cybercrime people at the FBI”.

Sure. That is easy to achieve in my situation.

my iPhone was downloading updates while in airplane mode, with WiFi turned off and cellular data on low data mode.

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2021 10:00 PM in response to shoeluvr13

The current phone I am using right now I was unable to login my Apple ID for a month. I had to go through account recovery before I was able to access my Apple ID and log in.

During the month in which it was not signed in to Apple, the iPhone received iMessages anyway.

I attempted to chat with Apple during this time to get help, however the tech on the chat refused to believe me when I told him the iPhone had never been logged into Apple at all and I could not get any screenshots to go though to show him.

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2021 10:33 PM in response to hsshall

In these 15 months, I have changed cell phone providers— from AT&T to Verizon— and even changed home ISP providers.

Nothing has helped.

The local LE’s response is “change your password” I 5&!* you not.

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 1, 2021 4:27 PM in response to shoeluvr13

Thank you for your helpful responses. I do not have an explanation for what has gone on or is continuing to occur with my devices and accounts, nor has anyone given me one. I have not had any help. I have only been told what I explain has happened is “impossible” or “cannot happen”, etc... and no tangible aid.

I am not even able to request mobile site for my AOL email, instead I am prompted to “download mobile” as you can see in this screenshot.

I would love to be shown how I am not hijacked or hacked and that there is an easy, logical fix that gives me my online life back. This situation is horrific and I cannot describe how dehumanizing it has been.

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 1, 2021 4:44 PM in response to shoeluvr13

I would like to know how this phone is enrolled in Beta (according to my general settings, it’s version 14.3 18C66) however there are no profiles listed in settings. I posted a screenshot showing this to a different poster.

I never enrolled it in this program, have no idea how to do so, and this device has never been out of my possession. I am unable to unenroll it.

Are normal devices able to download anything when in airplane mode, with no SIM card inside, and no WiFi network around to connect to? That occurred with my iPhone 8.

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 1, 2021 5:32 PM in response to hsshall

I do not know what else I am supposed to believe when I have been to Apple in person two separate occasions in two different states and they are unable to assist me, telling me to contact the FBI for assistance.

Is that Apple protocol? I truly do not know.

as it is, I am unable to contact the FBI as calls do not go through and it isn’t possible to just “go” to the FBI. They do not take walk ins.

Chris0107

Level 9

52,019 points

Feb 1, 2021 7:38 PM in response to hsshall

out of curiosity, what are you referencing that makes you think you have iOS beta installed?

I don't have any devices running iOS 14.3 anymore to check myself.. but the top couple of hits on google leads me to believe that 18C66 could very well be the public release. My iPhone is on the public release of 14.4. If I tap on it, it expands out to 14.4 (18D52). So the presence of additional revision information does not mean that it's beta.

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 1, 2021 9:46 PM in response to Chris0107

Thank you for your response.

I have spent countless hours analyzing and educating myself on the analytics in the devices I have experienced all this with, to include this current SE, and the analytics point to beta being the iOS on my device.

I know the following *could* be coincidental, however, when I ascertained this information from the analytics and what I read regarding them, I went to the Apple Beta program website to try to find out information and at the bottom of the welcome screen it says “unenroll”. (I posted a screenshot of this somewhere in this thread I think).

I click this, and a window pops up asking me if I am sure I want to unenroll my devices from the Apple Beta Program. I click to confirm and nothing happens.

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2021 2:21 PM in response to hsshall

It also has this bizarre keyboard being saved in iCloud

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2021 2:22 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thank you for your response.

I have done numerous wipes/factory resets/ erase data on all my devices and it doesn’t seem to change a thing

hsshall Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 30, 2021 2:30 PM in response to Chris0107

As I said, all

my devices were purchased brand new in store.

now

i am getting this.

hsshall1

Level 1

4 points

Jan 30, 2021 2:41 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Ugh, I just had to sign in with a different Apple ID!

My VPN setting is clear

hsshall1

Level 1

4 points

Jan 30, 2021 2:42 PM in response to hsshall1

And see, this is using iOS beta— but I never enrolled in that. I don’t know how to even if I wanted to.

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IPhone is hacked, please help