Safari-Alert ?scam?

samer.mozannar wrote:

I did take it off after that because the program keep popping up for donations when i start my Mac. but after i removed it. All good.

I've never seen AdwareMedic do that. When you launch the program, it may ask for a donation, but not every time you start up your Mac. Maybe it was in your login items. You can always check the box that says "I already donated," which even if it isn't true, is the equivalent of "don't ask again."

That said, there's no problem in removing it, as you shouldn't need to constantly run it and do scans unless you're actually experiencing adware symptoms.

Hi all,

there is a great answer in the thread but I thought I would post it again here for convenience. These are scams- mine was an 877-899 number. Adware Medic did not correct it. I read further and then read and was reminded about the easy way through this. Force-Quit Safari with Command-Option-Escape, the select Safari and force-quit. Hold down the shift key and start Safari- bingo that should do it. Just as a precaution, I went back into preferences and found an "error 409" cookie that was part of the error message I received when the problem occurred and I removed it.

Things are back to normal.

If it doesn't work for you at least it only took about 60 seconds to try. Good luck and pox on the scammers.

kirk

AdwareMedic didn't solve the issue because the pop-up is not adware. However, you may want to look into ScamZapper, a free extension designed specifically for this kind of pop-up.

(Note that I am affiliated with that site, and some pages contain ads).

I had a similar message pop up while on my Mac, regarding Apple Alert/Security. The phone number listed was 1-855-482-2632, I spoke with a "Marcus" who said it'd cost $100 to clear up issues with my system. I didn't give out any information, but he did seem to get annoyed when I told him I'd wait until my husband was home to take care of the computer. Closing the alert box was impossible, as quickly as I'd click ok, I couldn't click the close button for Safari. Heads up to others out there. I wish Apple would address these concerns, and incidents.

THIS IS THE SIMPLE FIX- TRY THIS FIRST- I WISH THIS POST WOULD STAY ON TOP

Use "Force-Quit" to force quit Safari: Command-Option-Escape, the select Safari and force-quit. Then hold down the shift key and start Safari- bingo safari starts without the adware and you can go in and change your preferences- that should do it. Just as a precaution, I went back into preferences and found an "error 409" cookie that was part of the error message I received when the problem occurred and I removed it.

Things are back to normal.

If it doesn't work for you at least it only took about 60 seconds to try. Good luck and pox on the scammers.

kirk

I assure that Apple is interested in pursuing these nefarious folks, but they must rely on

1. smart folks that see these things for what they are - Con Jobs
2. folks that do NOT follow the primrose path and get scammed
3. folks that report as much info as possible about the incident so that the culprits can be tracked down

This is more than a phishing attempt, it is very close to robbery, IMHO.

on the New and Improved Contact Us page, see how to contact Apple Legal

normally, we see a LOT of phishing email reports here, to which we respond:

Phishing & Other Suspicious Emails

FORWARD to reportphishing@apple.com

Identifying fraudulent "phishing" email - Apple Support

Identifying legitimate emails from the iTunes Store - Apple Support

The closest I can find to the appropriate place to report such extortion is http://www.apple.com/legal/contact/ - there is a pull-down menu where one can choose topics... I chose [ Counterfeit and knock-off products ] which produces a form where one can report the "fraudulent Apple Support Company"

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This worked perfect for me, may be it will work for you too. follow the instruction given by Apple support in this link Remove unwanted adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac - Apple Support

Had a similar issue just pop up on the wifes laptop related to Safari. The number this time was 1-800-811-1749. Fella had an indian accent and was annoyed when I started asking who he worked for. Said if I had issues or needed further confirmation to go to the Apple store. (as though everyone has one of those nearby) Screen shot it below:

Howdy Reed

Got mad atcha for catchin him tryin to scam ya, did he? [chuckle]

If you want to be a really good citizen, you could actually report this easily using reportphishing@apple.com email of the entirety of your post - if you had some URL to put in it that would be best practice OR you could merely reference your posted message's PermaLink = https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6518076?answerId=27701731022#27701731022&tstart=0#27701731

Another reason Apple doesn't do business in India besides their weird laws

buenos tardes

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Hi, you seem very knowledgeable so I thought I'd ask you...

I received this same scam yesterday when I tried to close a pop up telling me to download a media player. I am new to the mac world so being the naive person I am, I called the "ssupport" number. He did show me how to fix the pop up by force quitting and the holding the shift key to reopen. But after that he told me to go to a website I think it was "rescue my mac" something along those lines and then gave me a 6 digit code. He then had access to my computer and started showing me all these scripts explaining my computer was hacked and needed a security software. Right before he asked me for my credit card number my boyfriend came in and saved the day and basically hung up the phone.

Anyways my question is... since I gave him access to my computer, is there something I should be worried about now? Can he do anything with my ip address?

I don't believe he downloaded any software, but I've shut my computer off and haven't turned it back on in fear. Luckily I just got this computer a week ago so there is hardly anything on it. And I didn't give him any personal info.

Had the same pop up today after visiting a local business's website. Could tell right away it was a scam when I had the guy on the phone. Since they ask people to call in, I was thinking a robo-dialer would be awesome to jam their phone system. Anyone have a recommendation for a favorite dialer service?

I encountered this issue and was so frustrated with it I wrote up a post on my blog about it which can be read here: http://20dots.com/posts/safari-javascript-pop-up-scam. I had tons of tabs open I didn't want to lose so I figured out a solution.

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.