apple phone phishing scams

Slydude

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Thanks. I hadn't heard about that particular scam.
 
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I have no idea how but I wish they would find a way to stop these fake calls/robocalls. None of the apps that claim to stop the calls work very well. I have tried several. Now we have them spoofing a legitimate number like Apple support.... Sadly there will be people who fall for it.

Lisa
 
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iOS needs to be update to iOS 12.1.2. It’s for iPhones only. Maybe they weren’t updated when the scams happened?
 
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iOS needs to be update to iOS 12.1.2. It’s for iPhones only. Maybe they weren’t updated when the scams happened?

I don't believe that this scam has any relation to the iOS version. The Apple Inc. contact comes from the iCloud address book, Apple created and added this contact by default. People, who do not use iCloud sync for contact won't see it. The phone call in itself does not send detailed contact information, it is coming from the address book.

This is just a "standard" caller ID spoofing, that's relatively easy to do. The caller ID spoofing would work for any other company, family, friends, etc., contacts you may have in your address book. Be careful out there, things are not what they seem to be...
 
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Raz0rEdge

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These scams are nothing new. It is VERY easy to spoof any number you want when placing a call. The one most recently that is very popular is using the first 6 digits of your phone number with a random 4 digits after. This makes it seem like your neighbor is calling and you are bound to answer. The other is to use the 800 number of legitimate companies (I had a call using Mastercard's number) and when you realize it's a scam and you want to call back you end up reaching the real Mastercard which didn't (and never would) make that call and can't help you.

About the only way to protect yourself from this sort of call is to go ultra conservative and use a call blocking app that blocks ALL calls unless explicitly listed in your contacts. While this will work for some things, you will have issues if you want companies to contact you.

All this is doing is making us all skeptics (not necessarily a bad thing) of all the calls we receive.
 
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This is kind of non-news. The scammer just picked a random name from the contacts list. As cr00zng said, Apple adds their own address to the list when you sync through iCloud. I've gotten the fake callerID thingy for other companies I have in my contacts list, but since I don't expect any company to call me, I just ignore the call. Tempest in a teapot, IMHO.
 
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I have an android and the robo calls happen at least once a week. usually from 410-570-xxxx.
 
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OK, I fell for the scam to the point of allowing them on my computer. It’s only when they said they were going to make a $3000. deposit in my account and I would need to repay with gift cards that I put a stop to it. I immediately closed all open sites and deleted what they had downloaded. I went to my bank and closed all my accounts they had accessed. Where should I go from here. What prompted me to go that far was the phone number that was phished from Apple. WHERE SHOULD I GO FROM HERE?? I do not need comments about how stupid I was to allow them to get where they did, what I need are suggestions where to go from here.
 
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I've heard about this scam since years ago. It's sad to know that there are still some people that fall victim to these scammers. I can even find some reports filed at https://www.whycall.me/858-208-4064.html since last year. For anyone who have granted computer access to the scammers, I think you need to re-install your OS. Don't forget to report the incident to the authority.
 

IWT


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I do not need comments about how stupid I was to allow them to get where they did, what I need are suggestions where to go from here.

Absolutely so.

You've done the obvious - closed bank & other accounts.

Think carefully about what other info they may have gained from you, directly or inadvertently. For example, your credit cards. Any remote chance that these were compromised.

What about passwords? Were you asked for any, directly or otherwise?

They have your email address, obviously, and maybe some additional info such as your DOB; perhaps even your home address?

In addition to closing as many avenues into your life as you can, I'd suggest that you run some tests on your Mac to see if they've left behind any Malware.

Download Malwarebytes anti malware app from here: https://www.malwarebytes.com/free-multi-os-download/

Install it. Ignore the "free trial" offer. Pay nothing. After 30 days, it will continue as a free app.

Now run the app and quarantine/destroy any malware found.

After all of that, I'd be inclined to download a clean version of whatever OS you are running.

To do this: reboot the Mac whilst holding down Command + R. This will take you into Recovery Mode where you can reinstall your current OS. This Apple article adds substance to what I've just said: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201314

Please post back. I am very sorry that you have suffered this fate.

Ian
 

IWT


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@timkins

Another thought I've had: As the great majority of Usernames are our email address - and they have yours - be mindful that if they have any password that they might have extracted from you, they can try the combination of email + PW to try to gain access to all the popular sites.

Amazon, Facebook, Spotify etc.

So, if you have ever reused a password they might have acquired, for any other site, change it immediately.

Ian
 
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I contacted APPLE (the correct way this time) and they screen shared my computer and checked it over and suggested I change my computer log in which they helped me with. She said it looked like they had done no harm and I could continue with what I had started ie; change passwords, close bank accounts, delete anything they installed. Still do not feel good about what I have let happen BUT better after doing what I have to combat these people. Thank you for the suggestions and I will try the Malware Bytes this afternoon.
 
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Ran Malwarebytes this morning and the computer came back clean with no problems. Thanks to all for the assistance.
 

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