if a number calls you claiming that they are from the social security office or work with Apple, don’t answer. It’s a scam.

a thread :

pls be aware that i am very depressed about this & am embarrassed this happened to me. i’m sharing this information to warn others. but please be nice and don’t try to tell me what i should’ve done differently bc what’s done is done.

on monday around 11am i got a call from an automated system saying my apple ID had multiple login attempts from Mexico, Alabama, & Ohio. I stayed on the phone to be put on the phone with a real person. This person claimed to work for Apple cyber security & was very convincing.

he then described to me what hackers are capable of doing. basically scared me into thinking it was happening to my appleID as we spoke. i’ve also been hacked in the past so i was already nervous & eager for his help. he asked if we could proceed on with blocking these hackers.

he requested that i download the “TeamViewer” app which is a desktop screen sharing software. Apple has helped me in the past w/ my laptop via an application like this so it was familiar. i felt reassured. Once i shared my desktop screen he showed me some data on my laptop that -

basically showed me how many times my internet had been “hacked”. idk it all seemed very convincing. i’m not very tech savvy. i don’t know much about computers. he basically showed me good enough data to make me believe i was being hacked.

anyways after that he made me log in to my bank account to verify that all my recent transactions were made by me. he also made me log in to another account to confirm my account activity. i felt ok here bc this is usually the process of verifying suspicious activity.

then he directed me to his supervisor to take over the case. his supervisor explained everything to me & reassured me that we were going to block these hackers for good. He asked me to take out my ID and take a picture of it so that he can confirm my identity

i went along w it and sent him the picture of my ID. i just thought this was all an adapted way of handling these situations over the phone bc of COVID. a lot of processes are done over the phone these days to limit contact.

since he’s remoted into my desktop, he has full control of my mouse. he then used my ID to open a Bittrex account. i’m watching this all happen. idk what bittrex is i’ve never heard of it. But i trusted this guy i guess.

he then asked me to open my PhotoBooth app bc bittrex needed to use my camera to do facial recognition. i’m like ok this seems pretty safe & legit

however i didn’t feel comfortable opening photobooth bc the last photos i took on there were for my OF’s. & when u open the app, it previews those photos. But he reassured me that this happens all the time and that they don’t actually see the preview squares. i believed him.

after that he ran some scans on bittrex? or scans on my laptop? it was like an activity monitor that was supposed to show the activity of the hackers. he explained they were trying to get into my bank account so we had to make a bittrex account to lure the hackers to that account

this scan took a while so he told me to relax and do what i need to do but just stay on the phone. During this silence he said i was so pretty and asked my age. i felt a little weird but i just brushed it off. https://twitter.com/frrijolera/status/1292912982154862594?s=21 https://twitter.com/frrijolera/status/1292912982154862594

its like 4pm now. He said they have to run the scan overnight to monitor the hackers. i was instructed to not turn off my computer, & not login to my bank accounts or use my debit card bc that could distract the hackers HE MADE ME BELIEVE I WAS PLAYING BATTLESHIP WITH THE HACKERS

so the next morning at 8am he texts me good morning and i felt odd but again i brushed it off. i just wanted these hackers gone. so he calls me & immediately shows me the activity of 4 hackers. this is where it gets even weirder.

he uses my bank account to add money to the bittrex account so he literally took money from my checking account to the bittrex. in front of my eyes. at that point i was too late but he reassured me that the money was gonna be transferred back to my checking account —

he kept reassuring me that this is a recorded phone call. and that i’ll have all documentation sent to me. and that my money will be put back.

so i had to stay on the phone. i had to continue watching my desktop screen to make sure the money was gonna be put back. he had to run some more scans or whatever. during the scans he’d occasionally turn down the brightness of my screen to save battery.

we had been on the phone for about 2 hours now. he then had to do the same process but with my other accounts. he then requested to do it with an investment account of mine.

i immediately refused but he then showed me that the money from bittrex was put back in my checking account using a wire transfer called Gemini? i think? somehow he convinced me & physically showed me the money was there.

so i logged into my account and he attempted to withdraw. during this he said he needed to call me back so we ended the call. i felt so uneasy. i googled a different Apple support phone number and called.

A woman answered & i explained everything to her asking if it was real. she said no, that i was being scammed. i cried hysterically. i was taken advantage of. i didn’t even know where to start to fix all this!!

i gave her the # that they called me from. She called and they answered as Apple Cyber Security, and she replied “funny, i am too” lol that lady was so nice to me. she instructed that i call my banks, the police, everyone basically.

so i immediately exited out the applications they were using on my laptop. i changed all my passwords. i called all the companies i have accounts with. the credit bureau. my phone company. social security office. i called the real apple for advice. i called the police.

turns out tho the money was never put back in my account. he somehow generated a webpage that showed my account balance as it was before all this happened. but it was fake. everything was fake. it was a scam within a scam.

i cried a lot. i feel violated. vulnerable. my identity is like at stake. oh he never called back to continue “blocking the hackers” but he texted me “good morning babe” today. i’m disturbed. i’m truly just disgusted and embarrassed.

and now i know he did see those pictures of me. who know what he was doing on the photobooth app while i stepped away from my laptop. i might have an OF’s but i did not consent to showing him those photos. idk i just feel gross.

if you have any advice on what else i should do to fix this, and protect myself please share. pls don’t be mean i’m really sad right now.