veritylikestea
Level 1 (1 points)

Q: 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 lock404(at)hotmail.com) 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

by georz,Solvedanswer
georz georz
Level 1 (10 points)
A:

I had the same problem originally. This is what I was told to do (and did) over the phone with applecare support.

 

Turn off your phone.

Plug your cable into the computer and have itunes up (do not plug into the phone yet)

Press and hold the home key on your off phone (I did mine for about 10 seconds). If nothing happens, plug in the cable into your phone (keep holding the home key)

What you want to see come up is the picture of itunes and cable on the front of the phone

Your itunes should then recognise the phone as an unidentified phone

Select restore factory settings (it should down load some software) ~15 mins and automatically install

The phone should go through some of the standard reset screens (usually black screen with apple icon and loading bar)

You will be prompted to restore the phone.... do this from itunes not the phone

 

Throughout this process you must not let the phone or computer go into sleep mode.... and don't disconnect.

 

I had the same issue with the lock screen but it was related to sim card once I did the restore.

 

I had to set the erase from icloud website, but that didn't originally work as it requires connection to the internet for it to apply, hence plugging it into the computer.

 

I accidentally started setting up my phone via the phone and got stuck on the sim card lock screen so had to do it from scratch again and this time via itunes and all good. Hope that helps

Posted on May 26, 2014 6:37 PM

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Q: My devices have been hacked. What do I do?

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  • by fishklr1,

    fishklr1 fishklr1 May 6, 2015 6:55 PM in response to deggie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 6, 2015 6:55 PM in response to deggie

    iit's gone. Apple can't find it. You have to remember, this is a hack. They have done something, somehow, that is making Apple no longer able to locate my info. The email that was associated with the ID no longer shows an Apple ID. If it wasn't deleted, it was likely changed, in some way, that makes it impossible for me to access it now.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie May 6, 2015 6:54 PM in response to fishklr1
    Level 9 (54,806 points)
    iPhone
    May 6, 2015 6:54 PM in response to fishklr1

    This is beginning to sound like a fish story. Apple does not allow the deletion of Apple IDs.

     

    At one point are you going to talk to the Account Security Team? If what you say is true someone has completely hacked into Apple's entire computer system and for some reason targeted only you. Apple will take this very seriously so call them.

  • by fishklr1,

    fishklr1 fishklr1 May 6, 2015 6:59 PM in response to deggie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 6, 2015 6:59 PM in response to deggie

    They have been contacted. As I have said, I called and visited the store. They state that since the find my iPhone was used to lock and delete the device, the only way to get into it is to have the apple ID and password of the person that did this.

     

    I am only searching for answers regarding how, after Apple has been shown proof (receipt from carrier showing imei) cannot reset the device?

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie May 6, 2015 7:02 PM in response to fishklr1
    Level 9 (54,806 points)
    iPhone
    May 6, 2015 7:02 PM in response to fishklr1

    No, you have never mentioned speaking with them. You talk about calling AppleCare and going to the store.

     

    You won't find any answers here. You can talk to Customer Service or you can talk to the Account Security Team. You should probably talk to both of them.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 6, 2015 7:04 PM in response to fishklr1
    Level 8 (38,298 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 6, 2015 7:04 PM in response to fishklr1

    YYes, they can't do anything about the phone or other devices. But they can restore your Apple ID to you. Yours is not the first time this has happened.

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. May 6, 2015 7:43 PM in response to fishklr1
    Level 7 (30,944 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 6, 2015 7:43 PM in response to fishklr1

    fishklr1 wrote:

     

    Now the devices state that they have been reported as lost and erased. Now the devices require this other persons ICloud info to get into. Apple has been shown proof that the devices belong to me, but they state that there is nothing they can do.

     

    As far as I know, there is no way to remotely change the Apple ID used to register an iPhone or iPad. Sounds like what has actually happened is that your Apple ID has been hacked, modified and then used to lock your devices.

     

    Apple has taken a very hard line on iOS device theft. Devices that have been locked by their associated Apple ID cannot be unlocked without the password for that Apple ID. Apple has also been bitten by lax security precautions in the past that allowed people to gain control of other people's Apple IDs by convincing an Apple tech to give them access. As a result, they have changed how they handle Apple IDs. Apple's increased security on these two fronts have been almost universally praised. Unfortunately, this increased security is not working in your favor at this moment.

     

    Here's the problem... if a hacker gains control of your Apple ID for long enough, they can literally make it impossible for you to ever regain control of it. (This can only be done if you have not secured your Apple ID with two-factor authentication, and are using the substantially weaker security of "security questions." Further, the act of hacking your Apple ID requires something like a weak password or easily-guessed security questions, or an associated e-mail with those same flaws.) Once they've done this, they can then permanently disable your iOS devices.

     

    It's understandable that you're upset by this. However, the Apple techs are being completely honest with you: there is nothing they can do. You are not the first to have this problem, and won't be the last.

     

    This is why you need to pay close attention to security with regard to all your online accounts, and your Apple ID in particular. There would have been signs that your Apple ID was being hacked. You may not have recognized them as such, but certainly should have recognized that they were unusual, and should have acted quickly. I say this not to rub salt in the wound, but to point out that you need to be aware of these kinds of things with ALL online accounts in the future.

  • by DMCollins95,

    DMCollins95 DMCollins95 Dec 5, 2015 3:05 AM in response to veritylikestea
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 5, 2015 3:05 AM in response to veritylikestea

    I got as far as the factory reset but nothing has changed for the last 10min, im stuck with the indication to put the cable in the iphone which it is connected. Help please!

  • by sabrina.ma,

    sabrina.ma sabrina.ma Apr 29, 2016 2:57 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 29, 2016 2:57 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Dear all,

    I am in Shanghai now and my iphone 6s and mini 2 now are locked by hacker. I have submitted this case to apple custom service team on March 9, 2016 and  still wait for them to unlock my device. This is really impressed me that Apple has such a bad custom service that dealing with a case more than two months without any guaranteeing promise about the deadline.

  • by shaunikaamber,

    shaunikaamber shaunikaamber Sep 18, 2016 9:29 PM in response to veritylikestea
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 18, 2016 9:29 PM in response to veritylikestea

    Hello,

     

    Did you end up having luck in unlocking your phone? Mine is locked and I cant get in to it

     

    Any help appreciated

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