How did my iPhone 7 plus get remotely hacked?
So, back when COVID first hit, I started noticing some really weird stuff happening with my iPhone. Like, whenever I got a call from my mom, instead of just showing her name, it would say "Mom and three others" on the screen. Super strange, right? And then there were these battery notifications popping up, but they didn't match the actual battery level. Like, it would say my battery was at 10% when it was really at 20%.
But it didn't stop there. I started noticing random stuff in my browsing history that I definitely didn't search for. I mean, it wasn't just out of character—it was stuff I'd never even think about searching for. And I always used Safari, but suddenly there were all these Google searches showing up.
Then, every time I opened an app from the App Store, it would automatically open in a web browser. Like, why? I have the official app, why does it keep doing that?
So, I decided to dig into it. I logged into iCloud and checked out my phone on the map. Everything seemed fine until suddenly the phone icon at my address disappeared. Total freak-out moment. And then I found some creepy stuff hidden in my iCloud—screenshots of my banking info and passwords. They weren't in my photo gallery, but they were there in iCloud.
Turns out, someone had hacked into my phone and was using it to access all sorts of stuff. They even sent out a link to their friends through my contacts, giving them access too. It was messed up.
I tried getting help from AT&T and Apple, but they were no help at all. Like, Apple support was basically useless—they just told me to change my password, even though I knew there was some serious spyware going on. Keylogger.
In the end, I had to cut off all my internet connections just to stop it. But it was a nightmare. I had to change my phone number and just ditching all my social media and email accounts.
I still try to figure out how the heck this happened and if anyone else has experienced anything similar. Any advice or insights would be really appreciated. Thanks, guys.
I am into tech A LOT. But I am not a developer, coder, IT professional, hacker (not implying anyone is using as example as they are highly tech advanced), cyber security or osint social engineering professional.
Not saying this to assume anyone is dumb. I want to paint the picture here, that I'm just a regular person not as tech advanced as most users here when that happened to me. I learned so much from that experience. I know more about it now but i had no clue then.