The iScam: Con artists freeze iPad and iPhone users’ internet browsers and demand £50

Con artists freeze Apple's iPad and iPhone internet browsers and demand £50 | Daily Mail Online

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Apple users are under threat from an iPhone scam that sees them urged to call a number and pay up to £50 for a fix - or all their details will be stolen, it can be revealed. The issue - which appears to have started in the US at least nine months ago but has since spread to Britain - sees a ‘crash report’ message pop up while users are on the Safari internet app. The message appearing on the screen says: 'Warning iOS Crash Report - Due to a third party application in your phone, iOS crashed. Contact support for an immediate fix.’

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Users are then told to call one of a list of numbers - ‘1-800-480-4170’ in the US or ‘0800 279 6211’ or ‘0800 652 4895’ in the UK - and someone will then ask for their credit card details to make a payment to solve the issue. The person answering the phone says a third party has been removing all their details from their handset - and this can only be stopped by paying up to £30 ($47) in Britain, or $80 (£51) in the US

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Other users say the issue is caused by adverts infected with malicious code, causing the warning to appear on otherwise safe and respectable websites. One user named Dizzer88 wrote on the forum last November: ‘I too called the phone number to see what was going on. It went straight on hold when I called - didn't ring - and then when someone came on the line, it was a woman who I could barely hear due to the noise in the background. HOW TO BEAT THE iSCAMMERS If your Apple device is frozen by this warning message, take these steps: Press the Home button to exit Safari In Settings, enter Airplane Mode In Settings, look for Safari settings, and clear your internet browsing history and cookies Reopen Safari and the pop-up warning should have gone If it has, take your device out of Airplane Mode ‘She stated that my iOS crashed and was no longer something on my iPhone 5S and that a third party was at that time taking all my info off my phone - nice "scare tactic", eh?. ‘She then said for $80 though she could reinstall iOS and just needed my credit card number -yeah, okay. ‘So I said that was ridiculous as I had been using apps and my phone the whole time I was talking to her on speaker, and said I would call Apple Support directly. She told me they would say the same thing about having to pay to have iOS reinstalled on my phone. ‘I said "I highly doubt it" and told her I wouldn't pay the money and that she was essentially full of c***. She then said - probably after realising I wasn't buying any of it – “okay, ma'am” and hung up on me.’ An Apple spokesman told MailOnline today: 'This support page on our website details how iOS users can turn off some features in Safari to help protect their privacy and device from possible security risks on the Internet.'

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