Got a Mac pc alert warning. Says suspicious activity might have been detected then told me to call 1800232906 immediately but I can't get through. What do I do

Don't try calling the number; it's a scam. Force quit Safari and then launch it with the Shift key; if that doesn't work, temporarily disconnect the computer from the Internet.

(121747)

I agree with Niel. Don't EVER call back a number that comes at you out of the blue like that. If you have a smartphone, there are several phone directory apps that allow you to do a reverse search on the phone number. If there's no company name listed or it is a VOIP line (voice over internet protocol), it is very likely a scam. If your computer is running just fine and there's no suspicious activity in your bank account or credit cards, it is, as Neil suggested, some sort of a scam. And I think (Neil, help me here, because I use Firefox) starting Safari while holding down the Shift key resets Safari to its default state. Also, if I remember correctly, there's a way to empty the cache of all the cookies that have accumulated.

Be careful out there.

Hi there,

Today i got sucked in and scammed by this same security alert. Without knowing how to restart Safari without the same alert popping up i called the number and spoke to an indian person. They remotely logged into my computer and spun me all this stuff about a major security breach and the IMac needing extensive repairs. Having never had any pop-up do this to my computer before i guess i panicked and i paid the $200 US for the company (going as Square Techno Inc.) to take over and re-install programs / security programs.

Long story short i though my only option was to pay that money. They guarantee that the IMac will be restored in less than 60 mins. I watched them install various programs, one of the main ones being CCleaner. Come on i'm not that bright with all this stuff but even i knew that that is a free program that i used to run on my PC.

Needless to say once my computer was restored i googled this number and saw this message board. i feel like a right idiot. Don't fall for this people. I shall email apple swell to see where i stand with this.

Like jeffb996 stated be careful out there.

I Got the same warning, and fell for the scam.....after about 90 minutes, my IPAD was back to normal, and I was 200.00 poorer. I should have known better, but didnt know about the Safari restart. Next time, I will look before I leap. It would be great if Apple sent out alerts to warn about scams and advise how to fix.

This just happened to me also and I was suspicious I thought if it came up on my Mac and a warning it was a legitimate concern. I will also notify Apple.

Now I purchased the sweeper is this company anyone I should trust at all ?

Violet2008 wrote:

Now I purchased the sweeper is this company anyone I should trust at all ?

No, no, no.

It's a scam. Call Apple technical support by findings their number on their website. The number they gave you reaches a company called "square techno", and for 200.00, they promise to fix your computer, and they actually relieve you of the issue, but Apple technical support can help you for free.

Sent from my iPad

Hi ,

I also fell victim to this scam. Since this happened what precautions do I need to do? I purchased their software and now fear they have all my banking, private info. I have since deleted it but how will I know if they will use this info? What should I do to be sure they are not accessing my "stuff"?

Thanks

Hey everyone, That 800 # doesn't have enough numbers. The number that I got was enough numbers and I did get through to what seemed to be Apple certified people, then they showed me how my computer was infected with a worm called Koobface which they happily showed me somewhere on my computer. That's when they turned me over to Square Techno, Inc. As they used LogMeIn I thought it was legit. So fast he went drawing in red on my screen to show me the demons (for all I know that really was my computer's innards) then he quickly went to WikiPedia to let me see the explanation about this Koobface worm, told me how bad people can get into all your accounts etc, etc, etc. You're bummed about $200.00? My bill is $499.99! There really is a website for this company, Square Techno, Inc. Now they have my bank routing number and account number. It's Sunday so can't call the bank now, but I don't see that the money has been withdrawn yet. I'm mad.

No one has ever explained how these people get you, while everyone is always warning about opening stuff or downloading to your computer. Why doesn't somebody write up a clear explanation of how the hackers work and then we could be more mindful and aware?

cherazrt -

Stop, take a deep breath and slow down.

This is actually just about the oldest trick in the hacker's toolbox. It is called "spearfishing", or sometimes just "phishing". They got you because you clicked on a link. There probably was nothing wrong with your computer in the first place, but these guys are good at making you THINK something is wrong. I responded to this thread back on February 5 (responding in the thread to a post by Tooter_no2) and there were several other similar responses.

I just did a reverse phone number search (free iPhone app referenced earlier...) on the 800 number for Square Techno and, guess what? No company name, just a scam report. Do a Google search on "Square Techno fraud alert" and you'll get several references to the same sort of scam.

Please understand, I'm not trying to berate you, but I have received several emails from Apple Support Communities on this thread.

To answer your question, the way these people "get" you is that you click on their link. It's just that simple. Do not EVER click on a link from anybody unless you know exactly who it is, why they sent you the link and what the subject is. When you let Square Techno access your computer with LogMeIn, you gave them complete access to your computer. That's how they were able to draw all kinds of red lines on your screen to make you think they were doing something.

Since I was a little snippy in my earlier response, allow me to add a little more technical information for others who may stumble across this thread....

A quick whois inquiry (using the GoDaddy whois function at who.godaddy.com), the owner of the Square Techno website is in Singapore, not Las Vegas. There is no street address on the website. A quick look at the Square Techno website shows poor English on the Contact page (a dead giveaway) stating "We are in USA, Canada, UK, Australia and serving globally. Shoot us an email, give us a call, or fill out our issues if you're interested in getting started. We look forward to learning more about you !" It should be "We are in the USA..." and what does "fill out our issues" mean? As I said, bad English is an obvious clue. A reverse search of the phone number 800-587-9155 using http://www.whitepages.com/reverse_phoneyields no name, no carrier, no location, just some negative comments at the bottom of the page. Use the same website to reverse search any known good phone number (I tried a local pool supply company). It should return a carrier name, account type (VOIP in this case), business name, address and a map. A search of my own land line number has the correct information. (Hey, I'm even listed in the phone book. Remember those? They're on paper?) A search of my cell number does not list my name or address, but it has the right carrier and the right city. If you look up Square Techno, Las Vegas NV on whitepages.com (like looking it up in the aforementioned paper phone book), you get..... nothing.

To put it simply, a bogus phone number and bogus information on a website is pretty easy to spot. You just have to look and the resources are free. If it looks funny, don't trust it. And call Apple Support or make an appointment to see somebody at the Genius Bar in your nearest Apple Store if you really think something might be wrong.

I first had this problem with a notice from Google. They wanted 365.00 from me to fix the problem. Back then I gave them permission to take a look to find out what was causing the problem so they had access to my laptop. I refused to pay that amount and told them if you are really google, you should not be charging me. Later, I found out in the newspaper google scam was going on by scammers saying they were from google.

Now, my mac has been blocked. I cannot purchase anything from apple apps because they don't know who I am and I have to prove my identity. This has been going on for weeks. I was given the phone number 1-866-637-4678. it doesn't match with any apple numbers. i need to get ahold of the genuine apple tech to fix this. i did not click on anything as I learned from the google incident. But i don't trust any thing on my computer at this moment. I ran my avg security scan and it was fine. But Apple keeps asking me to fill in my credit card info to prove it is mine. I don't believe this is really Apple. I think it is whoever has scammed my laptop saying it has been hacked or hi-jacked so is blocked and therefore reason to re-fill in credit card info in order to prove I am the owner of this mac. I refuse to do this! I need to see in person a Apple company higher up before I give out credit card info. Ticked!

Yeah, I love wasting these guys' time when they try scamming me. I got a message saying that there was a big problem with my windows, and had some spare time on my hands. I went back and forth with the guy, asking if he could see my Windows machine, and all that.

After about 10 minutes, I called him out on it, pointing out that if he knew what he was talking about, he'd be able to see that I was on a Mac. Called him a few choice names and hung up.

It is a scam. if you have already given remote access to these thieves the only safe thing to do now is to erase your hard drive and reinstall your OS. If you gave the thieves any personal or financial information change all your passwords and notify your banks and credit card companies of the possible compromise of your computer's security.