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Phone acting weird? Some new hack??

Dannielle1357
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

Hi all. Been having a problem with my phone for couple days, i will try to describe it best I can.
Phone is s6 edge on vodaphone.

I have had 200 dollars taken out my paypal account by "propellerads" company which i never heard of and had accessed my phone email. I thought its a virus so proceeded with a factory reset. After the factory reset, I had checked my messages to see that I have sent a message to a number I have never seen in my life "07480635445" containing 8 digits sent 4 times. I have called vodaphone and they have changed my phone number. After this,running various antivirus software no malware or viruses have been found. Today i woke up to be surprised to see that I have apparently sent to that number 4 times 8 digit message again. No malware or viruses are on the phone and messaging permissions has only the samsung messaging app. Any of you guys have any idea how or what could it be, as I am lost for ideas. Also quick note no apps or websites have been visited for me to get any viruses. Maybe sim card got hacked if that is possible? SS7? I am lost.

5 REPLIES 5

hrym
17: Community Champion
17: Community Champion

A factory reset should clear any malware (afaik), but it might be worth running a security app (such as Avast) just to check.   I'm not clear where the messages you refer to are.  Are they SMS or in another app - I'd sort of assume not SMS if the number has changed?   Either way, I'd suspect that it might be your PayPal account that's been hacked, so I'd be inclined to chage your password for that and contact them about getting the money back.   They'll at least be able to see the transaction thread and advise.

Every single password has been changed and monry are back. Yes it is the messaging app, also i have f secure safe paid for which hasnt detected anything. Only thing left is s sim card that couldve been hacked.

hrym
17: Community Champion
17: Community Champion

I'm not sure whether that's possible but, as a precaution, you could get a new one.   Customer Services should be able to send one, or a Vodafone shop can do it and activate it on the spot.

It's the fact that this has gone though PayPal that makes me suspect this isn't a phone hack.   If it was that, I'd expect it to be done either as a charge-to-bill (though the cap should have trapped the amount) or as a series of premium rate SMS.

mazen
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

Its belonged to another family member who gave it to me, Audacity Its a Samsung Galaxy j5 (If thats helpful) and was completely fine when I got it (aside from the awful storage and camera). Before anyone asks, Find My iPhone I do have AVG antivirus on it Origin  and I run scans daily as I have lost one too many phones and laptops thanks to my recklessness.

hrym
17: Community Champion
17: Community Champion

The trouble with AV is that it can give you a false sense of security.   It'll discover malware (or should), but won't detect social engineering and some phishing attacks that persuade you to log into a fake site.   In this case, is it possible that your PayPal account was compromised in this way?   Did you perhaps click on a link in an email that asked you to log in to your account and collected your details that way?   (These often suggest that your account is compromised and that action is required).

The standard advice is NEVER to do this, no matter how genuine the message appears to be.   Always go the the site itself and see whether that asks you for the same information.  If it doesn't, there's no problem.