I’ve been receiving Security Risk messages on my iPhone and afraid of getting hacked. Are these for real

Good Morning,

If these are on SMS/iMessage, they are likely a scam. If you are visiting a website, they may also be fake popups, and a scam. If you share an image as a reply I can help more, but my general advice is to ignore them.

Regards,

Bryce

iyogaprema wrote:

these are going to my iphone messages.

All you need to do is Block, filter, and report messages.

Never respond.

By responding, you are telling the scammer that the random number they texted is live.

As a result, they will sell your personal details and you will experience an increase in spam.

Click ▶︎ iPhone User Guide. 📖

If you receive alerts while browsing the web with a browser, it’s a fake popup coded in HTML in an effort to fool you into responding.

If you receive a text message or phone call from an unknown caller, then it’s most certainly a fraudulent attempt for your response.

If any of those situations is your experience, then simply ignore and delete them to avoid those scams.

Bob Timmons wrote:

The message that you see is a scam that is trying to trick you into believing that there is problem with your phone so they can sell you junk software that will do nothing to help your phone.

You'd be lucky if the senders of the message were only trying to sell you junk software, and were content with only taking that much of your money, then leaving you alone.

If criminals send you a "phishing" message, and you respond, and you give them financial information, they can reach into your bank account or credit card account and rip you off directly. They may also put your name, and information, on a "sucker" list that they sell to other criminals who also want to rip you off.

Smilin-Brian wrote:

If you receive alerts while browsing the web with a browser, it’s a fake popup coded in HTML in an effort to fool you into responding.

Web scam messages can appear in the form of pop-ups or in the form of Web notifications. The notifications are a "feature" of current Web standards. Any platform that implements this standard "feature" is vulnerable.

I've seen Windows PCs and ChromeBooks that were being spammed with so many of these scam notifications, so often, as to make them virtually unusable. Until you managed to shut off the notifications in EVERY browser in use, at which point the barrage stopped.

Here's a User Tip describing what these things look like on a Mac, and how to block them in Safari.

Stop unwanted Notifications - Apple Community

I found a site on the Web – aimed at advertisers – telling them about the great news that iOS 16.4 and later have support for Web push notifications for Web apps added to the Home Screen. I'm not sure that this is great news for iPhone users. But apparently you can use Notification Settings to manage permissions for these Web apps – something to keep in mind in case you ever set up a Web app and then start getting spammed.

"Your Smartphone's security has been compromised since 2/9, leaving your data at risk. Reactivate your security settings to ensure privacy. duscpb.com/PBSidp"

I get various types of this message daily like 25 a day. (financial risks, data loss etc) I went to verizon store they just said erase safari history. they didn't help. also contacted apple chat and tech said probably spam. Are they real? should I be concerned? How can I stop them?

I block sender, delete and report junk. they keep coming

Well, if you have provided your email address or phone number to anyone or any company, you are subject to scams.

Apple will never send a message like this, even if the message might appear to be from "Apple"

The message is trying to trick you into believing that there is a problem with your phone and get you to click on tap on a link in the message to sell you useless software or worse......try to get you to provide personal information.

Ignore and delete the message. NEVER click or tap on a link in a message like this.

iyogaprema wrote:

Not sure how my CC was hacked since I had it in my possession, I can only assume it was the data leak.

However, your credit card got compromised, it wasn't because of that email. There are several ways credit cards can be compromised. Common ones include a store having their systems compromised or your card information being stolen by skimming (using a device to read and record the numbers) when you use it to pay for something. These devices are sometimes even installed in ATMs.

p.s. these are going to my iphone messages. a few to my email but mostly coming on my phone number messages easily 25 a day.

It happens. You could change your phone number and email address, but it would not be long before the scams show up.

iyogaprema wrote:

"Your Smartphone's security has been compromised since 2/9, leaving your data at risk. Reactivate your security settings to ensure privacy. duscpb.com/PBSidp"

Sounds like a scam …

FTC – How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams

Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

to update: so regarding my original post I took the advice from Verizon, Apple and the community, and considering it spam I kept blocking deleting and reporting. Then months latter a credit card I hardly use with zero balance got hacked and charges were made from overseas to about $500. since I never use that card I caught it right away. I reported it to the CC company, closed the card, was issued a new one. a month later received notice the fraud charges were dropped, all but a foreign exchange charge of $7. they forgot to drop. since the card is now closed there is no history of the charge. I am still fighting that charge that was moved to the new card. what an annoying nightmare. I put myself on the Experian fraud alert for a year for free. I changed every password I think I had out there. so the warnings were real. also I received messages that my info was in a data leak. I ignored them thinking it was also spam :/ Not sure how my CC was hacked since I had it in my possession, I can only assume it was the data leak.

The message that you see is a scam that is trying to trick you into believing that there is problem with your phone so they can sell you junk software that will do nothing to help your phone.

Ignore and delete the message.

Do the same for the other messages which you will receive.

iyogaprema wrote:

"Your Smartphone's security has been compromised since 2/9, leaving your data at risk. Reactivate your security settings to ensure privacy. duscpb.com/PBSidp"

Scam. Links like that will connect you directly to criminals who are willing to tell any pack of lies which will panic you into contacting them for "help." Help cleaning you out, that is.

FTC – How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams

FTC – How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams

[Edited by Moderator]