Is there malware on my iPhone?

Question

Is there malware on my iPhone?

For a few days now, when I'm on this (foreign) newspaper's comments page, occasionally I get this "thing" taking over the screen while making some weird "ping" sound, and the only thing I can do is swipe it aside. This one is "from Xfinity," which is my internet provider, but couple days earlier I got a similar thing from "Google," which I was actually tempted to scroll down to fill up the info (not personal) to realize this is BS.

So what is this? Malware?

And should I start looking for any products to protect my phone?

I use the most updated iOS version out there.

iPhone X, iOS 15

Posted on Aug 4, 2022 1:08 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

frazzm737

Level 9

55,110 points

Aug 4, 2022 1:46 PM in response to amifromskokie

No need to invest because you can find free ad blockers. As long as you take time to ask yourself if the message for real, these protections should not be needed. Check this link...

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-8841

and this link...

Scam Pop-ups, Scam Viruses, Scam Receipts… - Apple Community

I personally use a couple of free Ad Blockers to avoid the ads.

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

148,871 points

Aug 4, 2022 1:31 PM in response to amifromskokie

amifromskokie wrote:

The question is, as any detective would ask, "what's the motive, what's in it for them?"

Motive? I can think of several:

Gain access to your Apple ID credentials.
Gain access to your other financial account credentials.
Steal your identity.
Steal your money.

Nefarious actors have simply found that it costs them little to nothing to send SPAM, either by email or text messages. It just takes one person to "comply" (aka, click on provided links) with their messages to potentially ruin your life. The key is not to be fooled that these SPAM messages are coming from legitimate sources ... and, determining that is becoming harder as time passes and they get "smarter."

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Answer 3

Aug 6, 2022 10:49 AM in response to frazzm737

I'm just curious, still wandering, that pop-up nuisance thingy, same exact thingy, does pop up ONLY WHEN I'M VISITING THAT PARTICULAR (FOREIGN) WEBSITE, which is a well-respected Israeli newspaper site.

Why is that, and what can I do to stop it???

BTW, I downloaded an app called "Security" (see icon), which can do all kinds of checkups but does not prevent that annoying popup thingy to pop up over my screen when I visit that specific site. I guess I'm gonna get rid of it before my 3 free days are up.

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Answer 4

Tesserax

Level 10

148,871 points

Aug 4, 2022 1:10 PM in response to amifromskokie

Chances are that it is not malware, per se. Instead, these appear to be SPAM messages. Your iPhone does not require any AV or malware apps, especially since you keep it updated to the latest version of iOS.

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Answer 5

Aug 4, 2022 1:24 PM in response to frazzm737

The question is, as any detective would ask, "what's the motive, what's in it for them?" I'm asking, since the first time I got it (from "Google") the form that I scrolled down to gave me some options to chose from (not sure what they asked), but none made sense, and when I chose "other" and clicked the button — it went nowhere, just set there on the screen.

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Answer 6

Aug 4, 2022 1:38 PM in response to Tesserax

Yes, familiar, I NEVER click any link in any email I don't recognize its sender, or even if I do recognize if it looks suspicious.

And I don't let my phone "remember" my bank's (or any of my financial institution's) sign-in and certainly not the password info.

...So still, you wouldn't suggest I invest in any AV / malware apps?

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Answer 7

frazzm737

Level 9

55,110 points

Aug 4, 2022 1:13 PM in response to amifromskokie

Obviously a scam! Delete and move on. In the App store you can find several good spam filters and ad blockers that you might want to try.

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Answer 8

WheelieNick

Level 8

37,547 points

Aug 4, 2022 1:20 PM in response to amifromskokie

This is spam. And most likely the news site is infected with a spambot and not your iPhone. Delete the message, don't click on it and you will be fine

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Is there malware on my iPhone?

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