Been scammed now weird things happening

[jackass232]

A few weeks ago I very foolishly made a purchase to what quickly became clear was a fraudulent website pretending to be a well known brand. Unsurprisingly the goods I ordered never arrived and I'm currently working with the bank to try and get my money back. It wasn't a huge amount but that's not the point. Also cancelled my card and got a new one.

What is worrying me is that since I placed this order (including name, email address, phone number, address and bank details) I'm getting so many more junk calls. And just now I noticed that there is a message on the wifi setting on my iPhone saying 'privacy warning, this network is blocking encrypted DNS traffic.'

I am a huge technophobe and have no idea what it means but could it all be linked? I'm so cross with myself for falling for a scam. Is there anything I can do? I didn't think it was possible to hack into an iPhone but this sounds like it's more to do with my internet connection.

I'd be trying to move your WiFi onto a different frequency and changing my password to everything. However if there is a question about WiFi, get a VPN and turn that on before changing passwords. Also change the password for your WiFi.

Not super techy but it's worth being over cautious.

If I understand your situation correctly, OP, it is more likely that someone has sold your personal information than it being a Wifi issue.

I think them selling my info is very likely. But the wifi thing is odd as I've never seen this privacy thing before. Maybe just a coincidence but it don't like it.

I've cancelled my old card and obviously being very cautious, not clicking any links or answering junk calls. But don't know what else I should be doing.

Anyone else?

If you google the message and what does it mean. It does say some stuff about malware and viruses.
Not sure what you do about it though.

Scammers will definitely have sold your personal info on the dark web, so you’ll see a massive spike in junk calls, emails and post. Trust nothing and register for TPS.
Make sure your phone has the latest iOS version installed, then disconnect from and forget your wifi network. This will clear any saved settings etc. Then reconnect from scratch.
If that doesn’t clear the message then you have a router problem

Thank you, I did this and the privacy message has gone now. Does that mean it was an issue with my phone?

Absolutely pissed off with myself for falling for such a silly scam.

@jackass232 not necessarily but it sounds like the scam website was trying to use a method of tracking your activity without asking. It’s worth force closing all your apps, especially the web browser so that you are killing any lingering connections and opening everything from scratch. I’d also reboot the device (good old off and on again!) as a belt and braces!
I think you’ll be fine but watch your bank accounts like a hawk

Thank you for being so helpful, I hate this sort of stuff! Makes me so anxious.

I have cancelled my card and got a new one so hopefully that means they won't be able to access my bank. Just hope there's nothing in my phone they can access.

If you haven't Already, can you install a virus/malware protection App on your phone? That should help ensure nothing has been left on the phone which might cause problems?

.... That post above seems really weird. I wouldn't email them if I were you 😅

I'm just totally clueless about this sort of stuff, initially I just thought they'd maybe be able to get my money so I cancelled my card. Simple.

Then the calls started, annoying but not overly worrying. I just cancel them.

But thinking that my details might be out there for people to do bad deeds with or that my phone is somehow being monitored is freaking me out. Does anyone more clued up on this know if anything else could happen? Like what tangibly could happen now?

I'd get some professional help as your phone has probably been hacked as well if you clicked on any links

Not an expert but two things that could happen are someone could pretend to be you and take out loans in your name for example. Or someone could try to hack into other internet accounts that you have using that email address, using your other data to try to get further information or bypass security.
I would make sure you have strong unique passwords for every site you use. And keep an eye on bank accounts for fraudulent activity.
I think people's personal data being hacked and sold on the dark web happens now and again with big companies anyway, probably nothing bad will happen so don't worry too much.

The only link I clicked on was the initial link that took me to the fake shop. It was actually an ad on instagram which ive seen since and tried to report but they actually said it didnt breach anything.

I dont actually know where or who could help me with this. Or what could happen.

I'd get two factor authentication on everything if you haven't already. Emails, social media, any websites that offer it.
Any password is quite easy to break and it offers that extra layer of protection.
Set it up from a different device.

Did you set up an account on the fake website with a password that you reuse or use similar to elsewhere?

I honestly can't remember. But I think it was just a checkout like system. I know I entered my email but I don't recall setting up an account. I haven't noticed or been told about any signs of hacking/spamming on my socials (yet).

Well if you’ve reused passwords at all in the past now is the time to go through all your accounts and change them all. Ideally use a different device for this.

I've done some more digging today and there's a very long Reddit thread of people who have been conned by the exact same thing. So I feel a bit better knowing that it's not just me who fell for it!

The main thing they are saying is to cancel the card which I did on the same day as I made the transaction. I can't do anything about the spam calls and I do have a range of passwords for sites that I use. So I guess all I can do now is hope that's the end of it. I'm still freaked out by the wifi privacy notice that I had yesterday but the tech of that goes beyond my understanding. I guess all I can do is sit tight and hope nobody takes a loan out in my name!

When people get scammed, they get added to what they call a ‘sucker list’ - people who they think can be further scammed. It’s as old as the hills - a friends parents were scammed out of €000s by people using the old - ‘you’ve won €1m, just pay this €400 fee and we’ll send you a cheque’. It’s the modern day equivalent of that - ignore them, keep an eye on your statements, check your credit record, and you will be fine.

My mum was scammed - we only discovered this after she died, there was a shoebox full of letters like this.

Put a review on trustpilot. As iknow these things are quite scammy I always check there before thinking about buying.

Take your phone to an apple store and ask them if they can check for any malicious software and know about the WiFi message. Other than this you could ask locally for recommendations - you will have some local IT firm who will do house calls. Probably an indie computer shop or similar.

I did something similar and doing the two factor authentication helps. Mine was through Instagram too!

If anyone is trying to get in, you'll have a message on your phone asking for the second part of the authentication.