IOS deleted

[MilitaryMom]

My 81 year old father had a pop up saying his Mac desk top had critical system errors. He fell for it after calling the number and being taken for $800 all his files are gone and he is left with a black screen. They told him his computer was clean and just fine someone with a OS to reload it. I am 3 states away and I am trying to get his computer back up. I have read several post about rebooting from time machine but he does not have one. Can anyone help me, help him?

 

[ApfelKuchen]

If the hard drive was erased, it wouldn't likely boot to a plain black screen - it would far more likely be a gray screen with either a folder-with-question-mark icon, or a prohibitory symbol (circle with a diagonal line through it).

This article shows the various possible startup screens, and what they mean: https://support.apple.com/HT204156

There's any number of things they may have done to the Mac - it's too soon to assume that everything has been erased. It's just as likely they did something that's easily "repaired" after your dad pays another $800 fee to the same "tech support" people.

Just consider - they lied about being legitimate tech support. Why assume they told the truth when they said they erased the drive?

Taking the wrong steps at this point could make the situation worse. If at all possible, get the computer into a reputable Mac shop, or have him place a call to the real AppleCare. Here's Apple's list of worldwide support phone numbers: https://support.apple.com/HT201232