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engahh

Q: Apple virus scam. Got took for $499.99.  A vertical tall msg from Apple to call a number. First credit card didn't work so they got my MasterCard too. What now? Oh, and the other iPad got another vert msg which won't go away with forced quit.

Apple virus scam. Got took for $499.99.  A vertical tall msg from Apple to call a number. First credit card didn't work so they got my MasterCard too. What now? Oh, and the other iPad got another vert msg which won't go away with forced quit.  They said they're in Florida. Hooked up 2 iPads to my macair and gave them control for 45 minutes.  What now?

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), iOS 9.0.2

Posted on Oct 9, 2015 2:42 PM

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Q: Apple virus scam. Got took for $499.99.  A vertical tall msg from Apple to call a number. First credit card didn't work so th ... more

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  • by carl wolf,

    carl wolf carl wolf Oct 9, 2015 3:21 PM in response to engahh
    Level 6 (14,625 points)
    Oct 9, 2015 3:21 PM in response to engahh

    "What now?"

    A couple things.  You can educate yourself about the various WELL-KNOWN scams.  Too, you can contact your credit card issuer, and dispute the charges.

  • by stedman1,

    stedman1 stedman1 Oct 9, 2015 3:24 PM in response to engahh
    Level 9 (73,920 points)
    Apple Watch
    Oct 9, 2015 3:24 PM in response to engahh

    In addition to Carl's advice to contact your credit card issuer immediately, you also need to restore your computer using a backup that was made prior to allowing the criminals to access it.

  • by engahh,

    engahh engahh Oct 9, 2015 4:03 PM in response to stedman1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 9, 2015 4:03 PM in response to stedman1

    I Guess I should learn how to backup my macair.

  • by stedman1,

    stedman1 stedman1 Oct 9, 2015 4:06 PM in response to engahh
    Level 9 (73,920 points)
    Apple Watch
    Oct 9, 2015 4:06 PM in response to engahh

    At a very minimum, change all passwords for accounts that may have been used from that computer.

    For future reference when you encounter such scam messages: Force quit Safari, then restart Safari while holding the shift key.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 9, 2015 6:05 PM in response to engahh
    Level 8 (49,654 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 9, 2015 6:05 PM in response to engahh

    Read Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages.

     

    You may be the victim of a crime, perhaps a felony offense, but for all you or anyone knows the criminals may be well beyond the reach of your jurisdiction's law enforcement resources.

     

    Your actions at this point can range from doing nothing at all, to erasing the Mac and reconfiguring it. Separately, it would be prudent to assume the intruder has gained sufficient information from it to effectively commit identity theft. Computer tampering and identity theft are legal matters that go well beyond the scope of this support site, and for which you should seek appropriate legal counsel. Therefore I can only offer technical guidance regarding your Mac itself, which may be considered evidence in a criminal proceeding that only you can decide to take upon receiving that counsel.

     

    It's very likely that these scam artists are looking for nothing more than a quick buck, which they got, but it would be irresponsible for me or anyone to tell you there is nothing else to worry about. Without an in-depth, hands-on inspection of your Mac, the absence of some nefarious exploit cannot possibly be confirmed by anyone or anything. Even an exhaustive personal inspection by uniquely qualified experts would leave an element of doubt. For those reasons, at a minimum it should be immediately disconnected from the Internet (unplug its Ethernet cable and turn Wi-Fi "off") after which you can decide whether to preserve it in its present condition as evidence, or its contents completely erased, permanently removing that evidence. Decide how you want to proceed and write back.

     

    You should report this event to your credit card company. Since the popup provided fraudulent information that you acted upon, you have justification to report the charge as fraudulent as well.

     

    For additional actions to consider, read the following:

     

    http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0263-free-security-scans

     

    http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0346-tech-support-scams

     

    http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx