Was this a fake virus alert?

Hi


 my sister gifted me an iPhone 11 for Christmas today and she helped me to set it up and i love it much more than my old redmi.


However around 10 mins ago i was Listening to Christmas music on YouTube when a message popped up says phone has been hacked and if i doesn't act in 2 minutes hackers will be able to access my personal info and use my camera i clicked ok and it redirected me to some space app thing so i clicked off and closed all apps didn't download anything.


I'm thinking this is a scam but wanted to check here as I'm now really worried especially since I've not even had it for 24hrs yet.


Was it a scam message and since I didn't download anything will my phone be ok?


Never had this issue on any of my androids so new to this wanted to check I'm not hacked as I love my phone otherwise


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Dec 25, 2024 11:32 AM

Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 25, 2024 11:39 AM

Scam. Ignore and delete the message.


Do the same with future messages like this.

6 replies

Dec 25, 2024 11:54 AM in response to Community User

MamaBear1060 wrote:

around 10 mins ago i was Listening to Christmas music on YouTube when a message popped up says phone has been hacked and if i doesn't act in 2 minutes hackers will be able to access my personal info and use my camera i clicked ok and it redirected me to some space app thing so i clicked off and closed all apps didn't download anything.


Total scam. The "if you don't act in XXX minutes, something bad will happen" – where "something bad" is along the lines of "hackers" accessing personal information, or your iPhone being "permanently damaged" – is actually funny, in a perverse way.


How would the sender know that something bad was about to happen – at the right time to send a warning that is so precise as to the timing? If a "hacker" was trying to vandalize your phone or steal your personal information for the joy of it, why would they give you ANY grace time before doing so? Why wouldn't they just do it, so you would have no defense?


It doesn't add up, because it's a pack of lies. The criminals who sent the message are hoping that this supposed timer will drive you into such a state of panic that you will act without thinking.


Was it a scam message and since I didn't download anything will my phone be ok?


You're fine. If someone sent me a scam message like that, and I remembered which app the scam message had tried to get me to install, I'd be tempted to report the app to Apple. If an app developer is involved in this sort of scam, they deserve to have their app pulled from the App Store!

Dec 25, 2024 03:11 PM in response to Community User

MamaBear1060 wrote:

Thank you for replying , why does this happen on iPhone yet this has never happened on my redmi phone?

I thought apple is more secure?


Anyone can send scam messages.


Those messages do not target holes in a computer's security, or a phone's security. The computer or phone is just delivering messages as it was programmed to do, and has no idea whether the content is a scam or not.


The messages target a different weak point: the person operating the computer or phone. If the criminals could reach out and silently take your money without any need to trick you into helping them, most would do just that. Since most of them can't, that's why they "phish" for the information needed to defraud you, try to trick you into contacting them for "help", or try to con you into buying software that does nothing to fix a made-up "problem."

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Was this a fake virus alert?

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