marlenefromdenver

Q: Safari-Alert ?scam?

I was browsing Safari on my IMac today when I suddenly got a dialogue box supposedly from Apple Security called Safaro-Alert. It claims suspicious activity detected. Your browser might have been hijacked and then it gives a number to call 1-866-782-9808 (Not Apple)

Since then I cannot quit Safari on the IMac and when I force quit it returns as soon as I open it.

Anyone else had this experience. Bob (Using my wife's MacBook)

iMac (21.5-inch Late 2009), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Sep 3, 2014 3:29 PM

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Q: Safari-Alert ?scam?

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  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Jan 30, 2015 4:42 PM in response to kirksanfran
    Level 8 (43,767 points)
    iPhone
    Jan 30, 2015 4:42 PM in response to kirksanfran

    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).

  • by PBRGHj,

    PBRGHj PBRGHj Feb 2, 2015 10:06 AM in response to marlenefromdenver
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2015 10:06 AM in response to marlenefromdenver

    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.

  • by kirksanfran,

    kirksanfran kirksanfran Feb 2, 2015 10:38 AM in response to marlenefromdenver
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2015 10:38 AM in response to marlenefromdenver

    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

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Feb 2, 2015 11:41 AM in response to PBRGHj
    Level 5 (7,778 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 2, 2015 11:41 AM in response to PBRGHj

    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"


    ÇÇÇ

  • by Amkbl006,

    Amkbl006 Amkbl006 Feb 18, 2015 5:07 PM in response to PBRGHj
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 18, 2015 5:07 PM in response to PBRGHj

    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

  • by Reed13k,

    Reed13k Reed13k Feb 20, 2015 12:09 PM in response to marlenefromdenver
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2015 12:09 PM in response to marlenefromdenver

    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:

     

    Screen Shot 2015-02-19 at 3.03.37 PM.png

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC Feb 20, 2015 12:46 PM in response to Reed13k
    Level 5 (7,778 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 20, 2015 12:46 PM in response to Reed13k

    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/message/27701731?tstart=0#27701731

     

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

     

    buenos tardes

    ÇÇÇ

  • by Tori_F,

    Tori_F Tori_F Feb 22, 2015 6:05 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 22, 2015 6:05 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

    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.

  • by NW_Rider,

    NW_Rider NW_Rider Feb 26, 2015 10:19 AM in response to marlenefromdenver
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 26, 2015 10:19 AM in response to marlenefromdenver

    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?

  • by jdprgm,

    jdprgm jdprgm Mar 2, 2015 1:42 PM in response to marlenefromdenver
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 2, 2015 1:42 PM in response to marlenefromdenver

    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.

  • by paul_jammin,

    paul_jammin paul_jammin Mar 14, 2015 8:57 AM in response to marlenefromdenver
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 14, 2015 8:57 AM in response to marlenefromdenver

    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

  • by idonthavetimetomakeupanotherna,

    idonthavetimetomakeupanotherna idonthavetimetomakeupanotherna Mar 17, 2015 5:03 PM in response to stevejobsfan0123
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 5:03 PM in response to stevejobsfan0123

    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 )

  • by gralarry,

    gralarry gralarry Mar 22, 2015 4:24 PM in response to idonthavetimetomakeupanotherna
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 22, 2015 4:24 PM in response to idonthavetimetomakeupanotherna

    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.

  • by Sweetmichael,

    Sweetmichael Sweetmichael Apr 20, 2015 1:17 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 20, 2015 1:17 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Your advise worked perfectly.

    Thank you.

  • by GrammaLo,

    GrammaLo GrammaLo Apr 24, 2015 12:52 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 24, 2015 12:52 PM in response to Linc Davis

    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.


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