All of one family’s smartphones were taken over, including their banking apps, after their wireless account was hacked. Now, more than four months later, they’re still trying to regain control of their digital lives. The single account was linked to five phones, and one day every one of them was shut down.
“[They] went into SOS mode, meaning we weren’t able to use cellular service. Couldn’t receive phone calls or text messages,” said Mike, who lives in the Chicago suburbs.
He did not want to use his last name or exact location because he fears scammers are still targeting him and his family. Mike and his wife are blocked from their Amazon and social media accounts.
“They actually physically got into her phone. We know this because of the fact that apps were added onto her phone that she didn’t add, contact numbers were changed to friends and family,” he said. “Contacts were added into her phone. We must have had easily 100 account passwords changed.”
They are also currently locked out of investment apps like RobinHood and the crypto app Coinbase, where they had a total of about $1,200. They also lost $2,000 in stolen Apple Cash and gift cards stored on their phones.
“There were bank transfers that they attempted,” Mike said. “Luckily, we stopped it in time and they were able to stop that.” The family also lost ability to access anything via two-factor authentication. His wife is locked out of her email account.
