Potential malware issue

[baldemort]

Hello there folks

Hope you can help. There’s a chance I may have malware on my iPhone air as after I few beers on the weekend abroad I may have passed the phone to a waitress in a bar to pay my bill.

If I have malware obviously I’m concerned about things like identity fraud and email hacking etc.

Is it possible to have a deep malware scan by a pro and is it possible to remove it?
Some have suggested just factory resetting and restoring to a back up older than the suspected date. My last back up to iCloud was before this date.

Please help

 

[Apple_Robert]

Did you hand her the phone to pay with Apple Pay? If so, the phone will only stay unlocked for less than a minute before it locks again. If you did use Apple Pay, she would not have had access to any card number outside of the Apple Card, provided she knew where look and did so quickly.

How long did she have your phone and was she within eyesight of you during this process?

Malware isn't going to be a concern in this situation. What is a concern, depending on your answers, is possible identity theft, or theft in general. A lot of it depends on how your phone is setup and what kind of access a person would have with you giving said person your unlocked phone.

 

[baldemort]

Yes I think I handed her the phone to take to the card terminal but think it was unlocked for a good few minutes as she brought it back to me asking for my Face ID. Was locked after that and she had no more access to it. She maybe had for phone for three or four minutes and was in eye shot of customers at the bar and other staff at the till although I could quite see clearly from where I was.
Email is unlocked on my phone but all banking apps etc are fully locked of course. Only concern was that she could have put some form of malware on my phone to steal my identity or hack my emails going forward etc. She’s a local barmaid that everyone knows there.
thanks for the reply and I know I’m most likely worrying too much but the advice helps hugely nonetheless.

There’s so much conflicting information out there. Some way you can’t put malware on an iPhone without jail breaking it. Others say you can.

Some say you can simply erase the phone as restore it to a back up from a date before the event which I have

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yes I think I handed her the phone to take to the card terminal but think it was unlocked for a good few minutes as she brought it back to me asking for my Face ID. Was locked after that and she had no more access to it. She maybe had for phone for three or four minutes and was in eye shot of customers at the bar and other staff at the till although I could quite see clearly from where I was.
Email is unlocked on my phone but all banking apps etc are fully locked of course. Only concern was that she could have put some form of malware on my phone to steal my identity or hack my emails going forward etc. She’s a local barmaid that everyone knows there.
thanks for the reply and I know I’m most likely worrying too much but the advice helps hugely nonetheless.

There’s so much conflicting information out there. Some way you can’t put malware on an iPhone without jail breaking it. Others say you can.

Some say you can simply erase the phone as restore it to a back up from a date before the event which I have

While I would not have done what you did (hand someone your phone), I believe you will be fine in this case. Just be mindful not to do it again.

And as far as iOS Malware is concerned, that is not as easy to do as some websites or YouTube may portray. And in your case, she would not have been able to do any such thing.

 

[baldemort]

While I would not have done what you did (hand someone your phone), I believe you will be fine in this case. Just be mindful not to do it again.

And as far as iOS Malware is concerned, that is not as easy to do as some websites or YouTube may portray. And in your case, she would not have been able to do any such thing.

Sorry I should have mentioned that the phone was unlocked when i handed it over. So she still couldn’t have added malware etc?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Sorry I should have mentioned that the phone was unlocked when i handed it over. So she still couldn’t have added malware etc?

I got that part. I was stating that she would not have had the ability to install Malware given what you said.

 

[baldemort]

I got that part. I was stating that she would not have had the ability to install Malware given what you said.

Fantastic thank you.

I’ve spoken to so many different people and they all say completely different things.

One suggested a full forensic scan to check for malware.

Another stated that he’s been an investigator for nearly two decades with a small IT team and that it’s virtually impossible to get malware on an iPhone

 

[HowEver]

Is there a reason that someone would want to put malware on your phone? Perhaps you are famous, an international spy, and worth billions. Maybe not, though.

 

[Bichon]

Is there a reason that someone would want to put malware on your phone? Perhaps you are famous, an international spy, and worth billions. Maybe not, though.

My mind went to angry server seeking retribution for a $2 tip on a $200 tab, as they're much more determined than the small cadre of hackers working as servers trying to bilk international spies. 🤣

 

[kody137]

Did something happen that made you think you had malware on your phone? It's certainly not impossible, but I would be shocked if there was a waiter out their anywhere that had the time or cared enough to carry out such a thing.