email virus

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email virus

I have not heard of this anywhere, but my sister received a strange email on her iPhone, it was like a delivery failed message. Subsequently, she noticed that her Mail app had sent out some weird email to everyone on her contacts list. Then to cap it all, she has no more emails or contacts on her iPhone, laptop or even in iCloud.

Unfortunately I am not there with her equipment so its impossible to investigate, but I wondered if anyone on the communities had any thoughts. It sounds like she has a virus, but to erase all her contacts across several platforms seems unheard of...

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Jul 7, 2015 10:13 AM

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Answer 1

anypats

Level 7

21,283 points

Jul 8, 2015 9:07 AM in response to Global Hiccup

It all depends on where the contacts are stored. I knew some people a couple of years ago that had Hotmail or Yahoo (can't remember for sure) but it was doing the same thing where it was sending emails to everyone in their contact list. If she has a contact list saved under a web-based email program then it is most likely originating there and not on the iPhone or Mail app. If the virus deleted her contact list online, then the iPhone would see that the contact no longer exists and removes it.

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