Spammy pop-up tricking iPhone users into installing malware
A spammy pop-up targeting iPhone/Safari users is tricking victims into believing their device has been locked and luring them into phoning a 1-800 number in order to unlock it.
However once victims phone the number, they are tricked into installing malware onto their device where the scammers will then charge them money to remove it.
The pop-up, which can be seen below, will appear when users are browsing the Internet on their phones.
safari-care.info
Safari Alert
Your Apple Device has been locked, due to security reasons. You are advised to call the number the helpline number +1-800-914-1792 as soon as possible.
Please do not use your device it may lead to stealing of data, contacts and personal information.
Kindly speak to a customer care representative in order to get this resolved. Call Support for Apple now on +1-800-914-1792
Users may struggle to remove the pop-up since the only option is ‘OK’. Upon clicking OK, users are taken to a page that looks like a Safari error page (it isn’t) with the same phone number to call to apparently resolve the problem. A screenshot of this page is below.
However calling the number is certainly not advised. The phone number has nothing to do with Apple or Safari. On the other end of the line are criminals who will try and trick callers into installing malware onto their phones (or at least trick them into believing there is malware on their phone) by instructing the caller to do a “diagnostic test”. But it’s not a real diagnostic test.
During the call, the criminals will advise the caller that there is malware on the phone, and that it can be removed, but at a cost. Often this will be hundreds of dollars.
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So what do you need to do if you see this pop-up?
It’s a spammy pop-up, and thus it has nothing to do with Apple or your phone. Just because a pop-up appears telling you your phone has been locked, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Getting rid of this pop-up can be tricky since there is no cancel option, but there are ways around it.
A popular method is to simply put your phone into “flight mode” so it cannot connect to the Internet, and then click OK. Once the resulting window loads, simply exit out of it, and preferably the window that you were surfing beforehand as well. Once all Safari windows have been closed, you can re-connect to the Internet by taking the phone back off flight mode.
If you called the number and performed any “tests” on the phone, run a full scan with a mobile compatible antivirus program.
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