Safari-Alert ?scam?

I've found I was getting stuck in this loop when I was trying to close a pop up while trying to watch a video, it would open a new tab and start the infuriating loop.

So, if you are in a similar spot to me (its a "javascript needs updating" pop up advert), don't click to close the ad, RIGHT CLICK to close the ad. It just closes, doesn't open a new tab. Not sure if thats how everyone is getting into this loop, but it might help some people out

I think I can help eliminate most of those steps. Don't quit safari, Simply turn off wifi, click Ok to close the alert, then close the webpage that's prompting the alert. Turn wifi back on. Done. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. (just to be clear, that's what I like to tell myself when problem solving, I'm "stupid" not you 😀)

Thank you for a good suggestion. I turned off my Wi-Fi as suggested and was immediately allowed to change safari's preferences from loading my old windows back from history to just getting a new window when opening Safari. I was surprised that I didn't even need to close Safari first. That little window of scam-ware or scare-ware proved itself to be quite pernicious as I couldn't get it closed no matter what I tried previously. Which included trying to close the specific processes that were under Safari in the activity monitor. So thank you again! Oh and as far as "keeping it simple stupid" goes. So long as one remembers the concept, they keep themselves from a great deal of stupidity.

Thank you so much, Linc.

My computer is running OS X 10.10.3. I followed your instructions with one difference and the problem seems to be resolved. In case anyone else has the same experience, here's what happened:

Steps 1 and 2 were not successful.

Step 3 seemed to work. There were no unfamiliar downloads.

But when I reopened Safari, the same screen appeared.

I repeated the instructions, with this addition: After force-quitting and restarting Safari again, on the Safari drop-down menu, I selected Clear History and Website Data, then Clear All History, then Clear History.

Then I resumed Step 3 of your instructions. When I reopened Safari, the scam page and pop-up were gone and the browser is functional. At least so far.

Thanks again.

The same thing just happened to me, I had this number pop up with the "Phishing attempt" box and I would not get rid of it even after restarting my computer. 1-877-899-1824. They told me someone form Arizona had hacked into my computer. I gave them control of my mac and they installed "Clean my mac" software and this all took about 1.5 hours as I was on the phone with them. I gave them my name, address and phone number and they had me electronically sign some "agreement" that I would pay with a check and send it out in the mail. $300.00 for 1 year of protection. I have not paid anyone yet and will not, but now I'm scared that these people have my personal information, and still have control of my computer somehow. What do I do now?? Can I take my mac to an apple store and have them look at it and get rid of whatever they put on my computer, (if anything)? Please give me some advice!

bad news. I expect thomas_r will chime in shortly...

The Safe Mac » Tech support scam pop-ups

The fact that you gave them remote access to your computer is bad. They may have left some little nasties around, like a backdoor to get back in to your system in the future or a keylogger to steal your passwords. They may also have accessed any of the unencrypted data on your hard drive.

To start, erase the hard drive and reinstall everything from scratch:

How to reinstall Mac OS X from scratch

Alternately, if you use Time Machine (or something similar) for backups, you can restore your whole system to a point in time prior to giving them access.

Once you have a clean system, you need to start doing things to protect yourself. Change all passwords for all online accounts. If you have any sensitive financial data in unencrypted form on your computer, such as credit card or bank account numbers, notify the company/bank of the potential breach in each case.

These people may also have enough information at this point to effectively steal your identity, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to sign up for a credit monitoring service, like LifeLock. (I don't actually know if LifeLock is any good or not, and don't recommend for or against them; that's just the one that most people recognize, so I used it as an example.)

DO NOT send the check!

(Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com.)

This just happened to me in Google Chrome. I had no idea what to do so I called the 877 number that was referred on the popup... I'm pretty sure the number is affiliated with the popup and is part of the scam. The guy basically hijacked my computer and kept asking for more and more information. I know enough about IT to know when I'm getting jacked around by someone, so I kept asking questions and making suggestions but he ran me in circles like I was stupid. Finally when he told me I would have to pay 200$ and let him work on my computer for 30 minutes I was like YEAH RIGHT and told him I couldn't pay him for that and hung up. Just shut your computer off, unplug it or hit the button whatever you can do shut it down. Then when you open up the page will say you'll need to resubmit because it's timed out. Just close the tab and you should be fine. I changed my passwords and things too because he made me download something called Rescue.Me and I wasn't sold on it being safe and I'm keeping an eye on my bank accounts since I shop online sometimes.

Just don't call the number, they just want money and you can fix the issue yourself.

So I called the number and gave them my email and name. When they asked to access my computer I hung up. I found this chat room and read through everything. I deleted my downloads and my website data. Is there anything else I need to do? I am just worried they have access to my computer. But they can't do that with my name and email can they?

Yes, this should be fine. Apple had me close down and restart. When you see the gray screen hold down "shift" and that will get you to a safe screen so you can delete everything. You could also go to Safari -Preferences - Security - and disable Java Script; leave the Preferences Dialogue open. Close the malicious window. Re-enable Java Script.

Hello. So I'm not the most tech savvy person and I fell victim to this scam. It was on my IPad. I called the number and fell for everything they were telling me. They asked for my phone number, email, and credit card number. They sounded so helpful and I completely fell for it! I never dow loaded anything they said. They just said that they could help me and it would cost me $30. Now I'm a college student and am living with my parents. My mother after hearing this immediately told me that we need to take action. So we froze my credit card, called them and terminated my credit card account. Everything seems to be fine now. Nothing seemed to be taken. And even though they never asked for computer access, I made sure to call a legit support company and they said nothing thankfully was in our computers. This whole ordeal has made me so anxious just because I feel as though they will be angry about not getting the money, but I know now that they just wanted to get a quick $30. Everyone please be careful out there. Use me as an example of you must

OH also, the next morning I went to Apple, told them what happened and we were able to basically deactivate my iPad and then deactivate it as if it were a new iPad. Just in case they were able to get into the iPad. I also did this with my iPhone. I dont think I can do anything else except be more aware correct?

I am beyond furious about this. I took a screen shot of the pop up window. I called them and as stated above, they pretended to be an Apple Tech. I allowed them access to my computer and I grew suspicious when they tried to up-sell me. I hung up on them and force quit the links. Since I have a back up, I proceeded to erase my hard drive and re-install Yosemite and then install my back up from nine days ago. I did not want to risk any trace of what they may have done to my computer to remain. That is why I did an erase and re-install. I am furious of this situation and I wish like anything that these people could easily be prosecuted to the full extent of the law... I really feel terrible for the people above that actually charged their credit cards... What a huge inconvenience to all involved...

I Had just replaced ny iPhone and had been working with Apple support when I received this pop up. I feel really stupid for calling the number, but I did. I captured everything the guy did in a wire shark trace. I stayed online with him long enough to find out what he was after , I think! He tried to get me to allow him to connect me to a company named Quick Solutions and for 280 bucks they will rid your PC/network of what he called a worm. Im not sure what he did before I figured out what was about to happen to me, but I first opened wire shark, which ****** him off. I let it run for a few minutes before killing the network. anyway, I have his IP address And the trace. I'm not sure that would make any difference, but is there anyone I could report him to that would to any good?

I just found this out when I had the same problem: Force Quit Safari. Hold SHIFT key down while clicking the Safari App. It clears the history and you are good to go. Why in the heck didn't Apple state this somewhere? Good Luck!