I keep getting random spam notifications appearing on my Mac

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Level 1

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I keep getting random spam notifications appearing on my Mac

Hi, my personal MBP (2022) randomly gets messages stating that my "iCloud is being hacked" or a similar copy. When I first saw it, I thought this was a legit Apple message. I clicked the link and it opened up a phishing web page in Safari, which I quickly closed out of. I'm thinking that I was infected when searching online yesterday and mistyped a URL. Then the messages started appearing when I clicked on the cloned site. Ever since then these notifications keep popping up.

Is there a way to find out where these messages are coming from and delete them? Do I need to reinstall my OS/back up from a saved file? Also, I'm using my work MBP for now until I figure out what's wrong with my personal MBP.

Thanks!

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 13.0

Posted on Mar 8, 2023 10:32 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

etresoft

Level 9

56,100 points

Mar 8, 2023 10:34 AM in response to jpico774

Go to Safari > Settings > Websites > Notifications and remove everything in the list. Also make sure that "Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications" is turned OFF.

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Answer 2

etresoft

Level 9

56,100 points

Mar 8, 2023 12:49 PM in response to jpico774

jpico774 wrote:

are there any other areas that I need to check to make sure the infection isn't also located elsewhere?

In theory, you could have malware or scam ware that is posting these notifications. But I haven't seen anything do that for a couple of years. I recommend waiting to see if the messages have stopped. With the current state of the "security" market, if you go looking for something to stop these messages, you are more likely to install something that will make things much worse.

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Answer 3

jpico774 Author

Level 1

13 points

Mar 8, 2023 10:41 AM in response to etresoft

I had two websites listed in my Notifications setting. One was a legit site. The other didn't have a name, just the System Preferences gear icon...that's a strange one. I deleted them both. Also, I unchecked the box like you mentioned. Hopefully that takes care of the issue. I'll monitor it over the next day and report back. Just to confirm, are there any other areas that I need to check to make sure the infection isn't also located elsewhere?

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Answer 4

jpico774 Author

Level 1

13 points

Mar 9, 2023 8:11 PM in response to etresoft

Looks like the notifications went away. Let's hope it stays that way, but after a day of using my MBP, I haven't had any notifications. Appreciate the help on my question!

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I keep getting random spam notifications appearing on my Mac

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