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My devices have been hacked. What do I do?

i was using my ipad a short while ago when suddenly it locked itself, and was askiwhich I'd never previously set up. I went to check my phone and there was a message on the screen (it's still there) saying that my device(s) had been hacked by 'Oleg Pliss' and he/she/they demanded $100 USD/EUR (sent by paypal to ****) to return them to me.

I have no idea how this has happened. I am not aware of having been exposed to malware or anything else, although i did recently purchase some new apps - perhaps one of these has something to do with it? I don't know. I am not sure what avenue has been used to reach my devices - I'm about to use my husband's laptop to check through some of my accounts (gmail, etc) and see if there is any clue there.

Has this happened to anyone else? What can or should I do? Many thanks

iPhone 5

Posted on May 26, 2014 4:57 AM

Top-ranking reply

veritylikestea Author

Level 1

12 points

Posted on May 26, 2014 5:48 AM

hi Rojmer, thank you for your reply. I was pretty sure that whoever Oleg Pliss is, it's not really the name of the person who hacked my iDevices 🙂

I think that what you described is what happened - I have gone into iCloud and when i used the 'find my iphone' feature i did indeed see the message and that both the devices were locked.After a bit of research my husband suggested that i turn off 'lost mode' to see if that would restore functionality but this isnt working - each device says 'pending: stop lost mode' but are both still 'lost' despite being turned off before i tried to stop lost mode (if that makes sense).

I'm going to see about changing my icloud password now, as well...

View in context

456 replies

deskokat

Level 1

0 points

May 28, 2014 6:30 PM in response to Foaming Draught

It doesn't matter if you don't believe it. I HAD A UNIQUE APPLE ID PASSWORD and had five devices affected.

May 28, 2014 8:05 PM in response to Andrew J

It would not be a stretch for hackers to go from unlocking stolen devices with a hack, too locking them.

May 28, 2014 8:09 PM in response to veritylikestea

Has anyone looked at the firewall logs of a hacked/locked mackbook, to garner any info as to originating IP traffic accessing the Find my Mac or Back to Mac services?

May 28, 2014 9:09 PM in response to Chris CA

Yes...

Chris CA

Level 10

82,476 points

May 28, 2014 9:18 PM in response to MidniteDaydream

Then why isn't it okay for someone to access your iPhone?

Chris CA

Level 10

82,476 points

May 28, 2014 9:33 PM in response to MidniteDaydream

You seem to be confusing copyright issues (what is available in what country from what copyright owner) with the price of products actually available in that country.

May 28, 2014 9:38 PM in response to veritylikestea

Since you are such a genius Chris, explain why a song costs twice the price in Australia when it is a global coppyright?

Tlix

Level 4

1,425 points

May 28, 2014 10:36 PM in response to MidniteDaydream

This thread isn't about your criminal behaviour. It's about helping people get their devices back and determine what needs to happen so it doesn't happen again in the future.

May 28, 2014 10:47 PM in response to Tlix

Thanks Tlix - we need to get back on track ....

How can I get my ipad back without doing a restore!!! Grrrr

deskokat

Level 1

0 points

May 29, 2014 2:43 AM in response to pogster

Flair for stating the obvious re password strength. The password wasn't unique 'to me', it was unique from all the other passwords I use. That was the point I was responding to above...

tinous98

Level 1

46 points

May 29, 2014 2:31 PM in response to MajorIP4

But the 2-step verification process is available only in some countries (not in mine anyway)

May 29, 2014 2:47 PM in response to deskokat

For Christ's sake, I was also hacked and it WAS Paypal - it is why I got involved in this thread . Why do you assume that in every instance it used exactly the same wording? It very clearly wasn't.

MajorIP4

Level 1

52 points

May 29, 2014 2:54 PM in response to tinous98

tinous98 wrote:

But the 2-step verification process is available only in some countries (not in mine anyway)

Which is why Apple needs to step up and get it done.

dilbert41

Level 5

6,530 points

May 31, 2014 10:48 AM in response to mikebhm

Like you - I turned off Find My Phone, but only for a day. I figured that with a Passcode in place even if I did get "hacked", the pain of not finding my phone was greater than just resetting it.

Jun 9, 2014 11:32 AM in response to veritylikestea

Update:

Hackers accused of holding Apple devices to ransom detained in Russia

My devices have been hacked. What do I do?