apple live technicians scam

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Level 1

4 points

apple live technicians scam

I was able to search and find a similar scam to the one I just received on earlier Apple Support Communities, however, they involved use of Safari instead of Firefox and also a different OS. As such, although I took note of those helpful comments, but I also decided to try to re-focus this problem more exactly on my system, so I could be certain I was able to resolve any adverse issue entirely.

The scam today was a sudden and loud voice emanating from my computer, informing me that I had exposed myself to an insecure internet connection. It put up a prepared screen, including some sort of logo and provided two other things - one a link to activate "network diagnostics", and two a number to "Contact Apple Live Certified Technicians" by calling "Support line 844-714-3213". By the way, this notification screen indicated two incorrect things. First, that "Safari can't open the page "HTTP://SUPPORT.APPLE.COM/" because your computer isn't connected to the internet."

As mentioned above, I do not use Safari. Also,I tend to have several windows open simultaneously, so I could easily verify that the presumption of my computer not being connected to the internet was just plain wrong.

So does anyone know what exactly I need to do first...... if anything? Also, of the categories listed below, I have no idea where scams are followed and addressed.

Thank you. 🙂

iMac, iOS 9.1

Posted on Nov 24, 2015 1:19 PM

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Answer 1

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,374 points

Nov 24, 2015 1:53 PM in response to KatrinMD

I was on itunes site and a warning came up about a virus and to call 1844-714-3213 > I think this was a fraud site. anyone know about this?

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Answer 2

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Nov 24, 2015 2:45 PM in response to leroydouglas

It is a well-publicized scam. Read:

https://blog.malwarebytes.org/fraud-scam/2015/10/tech-support-scammers-impersona te-apple-technicians/

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,252 points

Nov 24, 2015 7:47 PM in response to KatrinMD

If you are asking what you need to do on your Mac, essentially, nothing. Nothing has infected your Mac and there isn't anything to clean or scan.

You are obviously aware of the tell-tale signs of such scams, so keep up the vigilance and pass on the knowledge to friends and family.

The scammers are registering domains that are slight variations to valid web sites, so when you mistype an address, you get to their traps. They use JavaScript to lock down your browser by preventing you from closing the page. That can be overcome by forcing quit and restart Safari by holding down the shift key so that it doesn't reload the pages you were on. If your browser has a different method, you'll have to figure that out.

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Answer 4

timquan

Level 1

4 points

Apr 9, 2016 6:19 AM in response to Barney-15E

I got a call yesterday telling me that my iMac was hacked. I already have Norton Firewall installed. They told me that the original firewall wasn't turned on. WHEN I TRIED TO TURN IT ON, I HAD TO TYPE IN MY MAC PASSWORD, AND IT WAS LOCKED. SOMEBODY FROM THE OUTSIDE HACKED MY COMPUTER, THUS MAKING IT VULNERABLE TO HACKERS. THESE TECHNICIANS HAD TO INSTALL AN ANTI-HACKING TOOL, BUT I WASN'T ALLOWED TO USE A CREDIT CARD BECAUSE OF SECURITY REASONS. I GAVE THEM MY CHECKING ACCOUNT NUMBER. WHEN IT WAS DONE, I WAS ABLE TO ENTER THE PASSWORD AGAIN TO MAKE CHANGES TO WHATEVER I DID.

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Answer 5

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Apr 9, 2016 6:20 AM in response to timquan

Why are you shouting, its unnecessary.

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Answer 6

timquan

Level 1

4 points

Apr 9, 2016 7:33 AM in response to Csound1

Because I had to pay over 300 bucks for 3 years of network protection on the devices I currently use.

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Answer 7

Eric Root

Level 10

685,251 points

Apr 9, 2016 10:19 AM in response to timquan

You should erase and reformat your hard drive, then restore your computer from a backup made prior to when you allowed them access. Change your passwords and other critical information also. You don't know what software might have been installed. If applicable, contact your bank to stop payment and freeze your checking account.

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Answer 8

a brody

Level 10

85,314 points

Apr 9, 2016 2:06 PM in response to KatrinMD

Norton Firewall is not needed.

If you encounter a popup window from a source trying to sell you protection software, force quit the browser, selecting the Apple menu and Force Quit.

Next create with TextEdit a file whose content is nothing more than a generic HTML file such as this:

<HTML>

<HEAD><TITLE>Generic file</TITLE></HEAD>

<BODY>This is a generic file</BODY>

Use TextEdit's menu Save As, and save as an HTML file on your desktop.

Drag the file over Safari and immediately close the main window. This will force it not to load anything more at startup. Go into the Safari menu Preferences and edit your cookies in the Security, Privacy, or Advanced section's Details button under the Remove all website data. Only keep cookies for sites that you have known passwords. Remove the rest.

For the person who spent $300 for 3 years of protection, I agree, closing your account is wise, and resetting all your passwords is wise. You are already at risk of identity theft if you have fallen for the gimmick to spend for such protection. Don't believe everything you read on the internet anymore.

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Answer 9

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,374 points

Apr 9, 2016 4:16 PM in response to KatrinMD

<HTML>

<HEAD><TITLE>Generic file</TITLE></HEAD>

<BODY>This is a generic file</BODY>

</HTML>

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