Hacked

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Was on my I pad and got a message that my pad had attempted an illegal function and to call Apple at some 888 number. The safari does not work, just brings up the call apple message. My wife called and shortly after her calling I had her hang up as it was an obvious scam.
What can I now do to regain the function of my pad and how much info could they have gathered from the info she gave them, mainly the SN of the pad. Just chaps my cheeks, lucky they are out of range.

Smoky
 
Close all the tabs in Safari, Exit out of Safari, Close the app from running in the background by double tapping the home button and then sliding the open apps to the side to close them, and then reboot your iPad and all should be fine.
I doubt they hacked your iPad it's more likely that it's just one of those stupid pop-up's being persistent.
 
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Yeap, do a factory reset to be safest. Note which apps you've installed but more importantly, what apps you actually use. iOS doesn't auto-reinstall them like Android - that's good and bad, IMO.

If you get a pop-up on a tablet, computer, etc, check the number that they give you to make sure it really belongs to the company. If it's an 800 number, the real company probably has the same number but starting with 888. Anyone can answer the phone, "thank you for calling Apple technical support".

They asked for a credit card to pay for the "fix", right ?
 
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
It can't happen to a Mac they said..

One may try and safeguard against malicious code, but when one invites it in that's a different story.
 
Are you sure this is not a script executed by a specific web site?

Perhaps the malicious party simply reset our home page to a site that generates that "warning"? (In which case clearing history and cookies won't fix anything.) Can you go to any other sites? In Safari's settings has the home page been set to something you do not recognize?

Are other browsers affected? Try downloading Chrome and seeing if you run into trouble.
 
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
It can't happen to a Mac they said..


Malicious code, when executed by a device's user, can run irrespective of the operating system. Where Mac and Linux excel is preventing execution of code remotely. If I told you to open up a command prompt and type "format c:\" or "sudo rm-f /" and you did it, that is no hack. Likewise, if I generated a popup on a web site that said "YOU ARE IN DANGER. CLICK HERE" and "HERE" was a link to something malicious, that is no hack.
 
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
It can't happen to a Mac they said..

It's all about the largest market. Not too many years ago, Windows-based computers made up around 85% of the market, macOS was 10-12%, and the remainder was Linux and some others that most people have never heard of. Which would you target ? They all have exploits. Obviously today with the prevalence of mobile OSs, the bad guys are targeting iOS and Android frequently.
 
its probably just a bad webpage.. and when you close safari.. it reopens on the last page you were at.
reset safari to defaults and you will probably be fine... set it to open on homepage instead of last visited page as well.
if worried factory reset the device.

most likely nothing was "loaded" or "executed" on your apple device.

its just a hostage webpage and whenever you open safari you go back to it automatically.

I'd say a good 90% chance this is it.. seen it alot lately.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
It can't happen to a Mac they said..

It's all about the largest market. Not too many years ago, Windows-based computers made up around 85% of the market, macOS was 10-12%, and the remainder was Linux and some others that most people have never heard of. Which would you target ? They all have exploits. Obviously today with the prevalence of mobile OSs, the bad guys are targeting iOS and Android frequently.


BeOS and fly under the radar! LOL
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted by CELICA_XX
Curious as to why they wanted the serial number to the iPad ?

How would that benefit them ?

They sell it to China for the Knock Off IPad's.
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by Rand
its probably just a bad webpage.. and when you close safari.. it reopens on the last page you were at.


Excellent point! Good heavens, this may be as simple as a stupid web page with a stupid pop-up that OP keeps loading each time they open Safari!
 
As others have said you weren't hacked, these Safari pop up / redirects usually come from ads injected into the ad provider who services the website you are visiting. I found AdGuard or similar ad blockers generally protect against this.

You can go to Settings > Safari > Scroll to "Clear History & Website Data". Doing this periodically and using private browsing windows is a good practice.

Watch out for phishing emails that seem to come from Apple asking you to "verify your account" or some other nonsense. They wouldn't do this if it didn't make them money, sadly.
 
Clear the browsing history and you should be fine.

But you can always reset the whole thing from the settings too.
 
Originally Posted by CELICA_XX
Curious as to why they wanted the serial number to the iPad ?

How would that benefit them ?

...it makes them seem legitimate, maybe?
 
Originally Posted by WagonWheel
I found AdGuard or similar ad blockers generally protect against this.
AdGuard claims it's compatible on iOS 10 and up.

I tried downloading it to my Version 4 iPad running 10.3.3, but a notice popped up saying it's incompatible.

If a so-called ad blocker can't keep its compatibility notice current, why trust it to block dodgy ads?

I suspect that despite its claim, it's incompatible with 32-bit systems, as are many apps at the store. AdGuard would, or should, know this.

My browser of choice is iCab Mobile. It "ships" with ad blockers built in, but more can be added. I used to add more, but I downloaded so many that the thing seized. No more ads appear with the extra blockers than without.

iCab's settings and controls, including those for privacy, knock Safari's socks off. It's constantly being upgraded, even for 32-bit iOS systems. Twice over a couple of years I emailed the author with questions, and twice he answered within 90 minutes.

I can set every separate page on every site to display different-size type without it running off the page, or I can set it globally and change it when needed.

I have Safari turned off (as far as it's possible to do so) in the Restrictions setting in General because it's the default browser. It continually opened up, instead of iCab, from email links and those in the Notes app.

Safari privacy? There are two cookies I cannot remove — and neither could two geniuses at the local Apple store — one from the CBC and one fat one full of data from TransUnion.

Safari blows chunks.
 
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