iCloud Privacy Issue: Hacked even with Two-Factor Authentication

Carefully follow If you think your Apple Account has been compromised - Apple Support Especially the steps to check for and remove unknown devices using the Apple ID.

How do you know this? Did someone send you an email saying they had access to your hidden files, and if you didn't pay them cryptocurrency, they were going to send the files to everyone in your address book? If so, that's a scam. They don't have access to your accounts. They don't even know if you have items in a hidden file that you are ashamed of.

Everyone gets these emails eventually. I've gotten them, deleted them, and nothing has ever been sent out that would shock my friends and family.

I’m sorry to hear of your frustration. I’m know expert however these scammers are very convincing.

You may of clicked an infected link within an email or hyperlink in text message.

I would of disconnecting anything related to your account, sign out of devices and browsers and change the password.

Regarding the blackmailing. Do you know them ? Or is it just a chancer.

All the best

TT123B wrote:

I’ve got ya 😀 Its crazy how this click bait has become kind of what we accept.

As mentioned in a previous post these free VPN’s are a risk themselves.

what would you all recommend to secure an iOS device ?

Interesting.

Your take-away after reading about false advertising and scams is that the device somehow needs additional protection?

Probably the most common issue for most folks is getting phished, or getting scammed, or — after data breaches, or if specifically targeted — getting spear-phished.

Most of us aren’t worth the sort of mercenary tooling involved with breaches, and too many of the add-on security apps themselves are far too reminiscent of malware with an end-user license agreement; a EULA.

Phishing somebody is easier than breaching recent iOS security on recent hardware, and simply lying to sell some sketchy VPN app is apparently profitable. Same for thr endemic “Apple Pay” text scams, the sextortion scam spam, and other efforts to phish.

Some of the many sorts of scams:

• Recognizing Apple Pay Fraud Report Scams - Apple Community
• Scam Pop-ups, Scam Viruses, Scam Receipts… - Apple Community

Account security:

• Better Securing Your Data, and Apple Acco… - Apple Community

Got breached?

• iPhone or iPad Security Compromised, now … - Apple Community

TT123B wrote:

I’m sorry to hear of your frustration. I’m know expert however these scammers are very convincing.

You may of clicked an infected link within an email or hyperlink in text message….

Or an advertisement lied.

Advertisements (spam, pop-ups, etc) making false claims are probably the most common issue most people encounter, too.

Common advertising campaigns have been claiming “hacking” or “viruses”, and offering an add-in VPN app as a “solution”. (note: a VPN doesn’t even remotely address the claims made by the advertisers.)

This is why an earlier reply was seeking more information: there might be no issue here, beyond some (false) advertising.

I’ve got ya 😀 Its crazy how this click bait has become kind of what we accept.

As mentioned in a previous post these free VPN’s are a risk themselves.

what would you all recommend to secure an iOS device ?

“what would you all recommend to secure an iOS device ?”

Don’t jailbreak the device.

Don’t believe the nonsense you read on social media platforms.

The device is far more secure than 99% of users using the device.