The "Call this Number to Unlock your Phone" Fake Pop-up Message Scam
My husband's phone was suddenly locked up and this message appeared: "Call this number to unlock your phone: 1-877-696-588." He was instructed by the fake pop-up message to buy a $100 iTunes gift card and submit the number in order to have the phone unlocked. The message may have been displayed by a certain website or malicious apps.
If this message appears on your mobile device, try restarting the phone forcefully, remove apps that you are not using, especially the free ones, which may be malicious. Then open your web browser and clear your cache.
If instructions above do not work, contact a tech-savvy friend and have him/her help you get rip of the fake pop-up message.
But, never send money or iTunes gift card numbers to the scammers or cybercriminals behind the fake pop-up message.
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.