Hello! Welcome! I hope everyone has had a better morning than me. I spent most of the morning on the phone with Apple Support. Last night I was online when suddenly a window popped up on my screen. The pop up window vibrated and then a recording came on and it told me that my computer was in danger of crashing and that I had to call the number on the screen immediately.
I immediately called the number and spoke to a man with a thick accent who told me I had to pay $199.00 to fix my computer because someone hacked into it and I had several viruses. I told the man that I would much rather go to the Apple store and speak to someone in person. I actually just wanted to hang up on him since the entire situation seemed fishy to me. It was late, so I called Apple this morning.
It turned out that it was all a hoax! This man was the hacker and he was all over my computer. I feel so violated and frustrated. I can’t even think straight right now. If this happens to any of you, don’t even bother calling the phone number on the screen. Close your computer at once and call Apple (or whatever service provider you have) directly and allow them to fix the problem.
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“Things never go the way you expect them to. That’s both the joy and frustration in life. I’m finding as I get older that I don’t mind, though. It’s the surprises that tickle me the most, the things you don’t see coming.”
~Michael Stuhlbarg
Michael Stuhlbarg had the right idea, but I bet his computer has never been hacked.
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Colleen Chesebro is a writer, poet, and book reviewer. She hosts an inspiring event every Wednesday on her blog, Silver Threading, called Writer’s Quote Wednesday. Anyone can participate by choosing a quote by a favorite writer and posting it on your blog.
The Writer Next Door | Vashti Q 
Oh, Vashti, how frustrating and annoying for you! These hackers are becoming more and more sophisticated. It makes me sick that they can delve into our personal business, mess it all up and then try to make money out of us. I hope you have managed to get it sorted out now.
I thought the quote was great, although sometimes as we know, the surprises are not very welcome!
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Thank you Judy. My nerves are shot since last night. I have managed to restore most of my things and thank God my documents were not touched. This was not a fun experience, but a dozen double stuff Oreo cookies later I feel better.
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I am glad you are feeling better now; it sounds like a horrendous experience but it is great you shared it with us as a warning.
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That was my intention. 🙂 I wouldn’t want anyone else going through this.
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Well, at least we are all aware of this scam now thanks to you 🙂
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Vashti! What a day you had. Thank goodness the Apple store can fix it. I thought Mac’s couldn’t be hacked??? I did want you to know that we changed the challenge: http://silverthreading.com/2016/03/16/wqwwc-writers-quote-wednesday-writing-challenge-wisdom/. BeWoW is gone and Ronovan and I are taking turns posting weekly from my blog. We have themes now, but you don’t have to follow it if you don’t want to. And… you can be creative now! Hang in there. I know you feel horrible. What can you do to safeguard your computer in the future? ❤
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Hi Colleen! I was under the same assumption, but obviously after this experience I know better. What happened was that for some reason my lap top (it’s more like I) missed an update. As long as you update your computer periodically it will be fine and protected. I’ve had my Apple lap top 5+ years and this is the first time (and hopefully the last) I’ve been hacked. I still feel shaken over what happened because I was actually talking to the guy on the phone! Ugh! Anyway, I think everything will be fine very soon. When my mind clears I’ll check out the changes on the challenge. 🙂
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Holy buckets that is scary! Stay safe, Vashti! ❤️❤️❤️
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Thank you Colleen. ❤ xx
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So sorry to hear that Vashti. Yea, it sounded fishy to me too. Doesn’t sound like Apple to do that. Glad you were wise and listened to your good sense. I hope you are feeling better now.
🙂 ❤
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Hi Staci! I’m still a little shaken, I’m not going to lie. I’ll be okay as soon as everything gets restored. Yes, I’m so glad I went with my instincts on this one. Phew! That was close. I’ll be alright soon though. Thank you! ❤ xx
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I’ll bet. Something like that is so evasive.
🙂
Take care, my friend.
🙂 ❤
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Oh no!! Thank goodness it can get fixed. I have a Mac and I am now worried..
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No, don’t worry, just make sure you download your updates regularly and clean up the cookies periodically. They told me if I do that I should be alright from now on. It could have been so much worse, so I’m grateful I’m able to restore everything. Had it been a PC I would have been scr*wed. 😮
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Happened to me too… and the window popped with warning bells ringing… seriously! Anyway I picked up the phone, realised what was up and had ‘fun’. Queried the very well-spoken guy… interesting I can see how easily the con can work. I ramble… glad you didn’t fall for that! 🙂
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I’m glad I followed my instincts and didn’t pay any money. That would have been even worse. You caught on quick. Good for you. Well, one thing’s for sure, it won’t happen to me again. It was a terrible experience though.
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I’ve heard of this one before. I’ve never heard of it on a Mac though.
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I was shocked because I was under the impression that Mac laptops couldn’t get viruses or be hacked. That’s one of the reasons why I fell for the scam. It turns out that your computer can stay safe as long as you download the upgrades in a timely manner and clean out your computer’s cookies. I visit so many blogs on a daily basis that I should really stay on top of these things.
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Gosh that was so creepy and I feel for you, it was a violation for sure. Is there anyway to report him? I had an issue with getting strange emails indicating they were PayPal and wanting all kinds of details and I knew better by the email address. I called PayPal and they asked I forward the emails to them and I have to say, I completely felt better about it. All the best, Cassie
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Hi Cassie! Yes! The entire experience was very creepy. 😮 When I began explaining what happened to the Apple tech. she told me that this kind of thing happens all the time. She was able to tell me step by step everything this guy did and told me. I was shocked to learn that this sort of thing happens so often. She also told me that if he left any trace behind they could catch him. I’m not sure what that means but I hope he does get caught. I felt better after speaking to the Apple tech also because she told me that as long as I kept my computer up to date with upgrades and clean the cookies at least once a week I should be alright. Thank you! 😀 xx
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That’s awful to have computer problems. You probably should have hung up on the guy. You can’t trust anyone these days, which is sad. I’m glad you called the Apple store. I would have felt violated too, so you’re not alone. I don’t suppose there is any way to trace this guy and turn him in. So far that hasn’t happened to me with the computer but I’ve had some pretty insane phone calls from some nuts.
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Hi Sunni, having computer problems is one thing and getting hacked is so much worse. I was working online when a window popped up telling me that my computer was in serious danger of crashing! The pop-up window was vibrating and there was an alarm sound and then the voice of a woman telling me to call the 800 number. I can’t believe I fell for that! I went against my initial instincts and called the number. But when the guy asked for money right away that’s when I finally caught on and hung up and shut down my computer. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me. This experience really unnerved me, but I’ve learned from it. The Apple Tech. told me that they may be able to trace his moves but these guys really know what they’re doing. 🙂
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I’m sorry to hear you’ve been hacked Vashti. How frustrating. There’s no end to how evil people can be is there? The skills hey have put to that kind of use instead of helping people. In most cases with these messages there is no hack until you actually phone the number. Just delete the message and you’d be fine.It’s sent out to hundreds of machines in the hopes someone will take the bait.
Hopefully Apple sorted you out.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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Great point David. These are intelligent, skillful people and this is what they choose to do with their abilities. It’s sad and disgusting. I definitely took the bait. 😦 Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and since my computer had been acting funny I thought it was a legit warning. I’m glad I didn’t go as far as paying any money. Apple did sort it out and explained how I could prevent this from happening again in the future. Thank you buddy! ❤ xx
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How frustrating! Sadly, this seems to be the curse of the modern internet age, and the price of technical progress
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You’re right. Well, as frustrating as this experience was I did learn from it and they will not catch me off guard again.
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That’s a great quote. As you get older, and feel like you’ve seen everything, those unexpected things actually increase your experience level and keep you from getting stale.
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Ha, ha! Hi Don! I guess that’s a good way to look at it. I wouldn’t want to get stale. 😉 I’m glad you liked the quote. Thank you!
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I don’t think anybody is safe. I guess the best thing to do is always to go straight to the horse’s mouth as you did. Hopefully it will all go back to normal soon. So sorry to hear that.
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Thank you my sweet friend. Apple was really good at taking the reigns on this. They sorted out the whole mess and updated my computer. It’s working better now than it was before the hack. Thank God! I was shaken by the experience though. The Apple Tech told me to download the updates regularly and to remove cookies from my laptop at least once a week since I look at so many blogs. My computer should be okay if I do this. 🙂 xx
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That hacker is going to jail because Apple will catch up w him eventually.
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That would be great. These hackers are super smart and unfortunately far more astute than some of the people Apple hires as their techs, so it’s unlikely he’ll be caught. I wanted to tell as many people as possible about my experience so that they wouldn’t be caught off guard, like I was.
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As soon as I read there was a pop up I knew what was coming. It happened to us (only MUCH worse) a couple of years ago.
Good thing you followed your gut. It never betrays us…
XXX
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Hi Doreen! I’m sorry you had to go through that. It’s very frustrating. Did you have a PC or Mac? I’m so thankful that I caught on in time. The Apple Techs were able to resolve the issue. ❤ xx
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Oh Vashti, what an awful annoying frustrating time you had, so sorry for what you went through and thank you for the heads up. Hope all is back to normal, big hugs are on the way X X X
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Hi Jaye! It was a bad time but I’m happy it’s over and Apple was able to fix the problems. Thank you so much for your support and sweet words. I had to post about it because I would hate for anyone else to go through this. ❤ xx
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OH MY GOODNESS!! WOW! I thought Apple computers were unhackable!
I was having issues with my computer a few weeks ago, I had my husband check my computer and he said it seemed fine, but I’m still a bit leery that something is up with my computer.
I’m sorry you had to go through this, it’s like someone walking through your house unannounced and going through your private possessions but this may be even worse. Because your thoughts, words, and I’m sure your account(s) information! I’m so sorry.
XOXO
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If you suspect there’s something wrong with your computer you should have it checked. I would hate for the same thing to happen to you. On the other hand, the Apple tech. told me that if I had not called the number on the screen it probably would not have happened to the extent that it did. It was a terrible experience but it’s behind me now and I’m so happy about that.
You’re so sweet. I appreciate you so much. Thank you! ❤ xx
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I always love reading your quotes! 🙂
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
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That’s so cool! Thanks for saying so, Jess! 😀 xx
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