207      iPhone_iPad_Mac_apple

Activation Lock engaged without being prompted

The Activation Lock on my iPad mini was engaged even though I did not prompt it using Where's My Device. Has someone hacked my account?

That was not anything generated by iOS and was definitely not a legitimate message. You're right that it would not have come from the newspaper itself, but an advertiser on their web site or a 3rd party site lnked by a cookie trail from your web browsing history.

If it happens again, just double click the home button and quit the browser by swiping up. Then go into settings, safari and delete all cookies and history.

Activation lock is never going to cause a web browser popup message - any such message is a phishing scam.

When you sign in to iCloud on your iPad, the find my iPad is enabled by default.

Try to sign into it. Does it list a different email address than your AppleID? (Please don't post the email address.)

Or is it "Disabled?"

Can you clarify what you mean by it was "engaged"? What indicated that to you? Also, not sure what "Where's My Device" comes in to play here? The Activation Lock on an iDevice is called Find My iPhone.

Cheers,

GB

"Where's My Device" is my feeble attempt to remember the app's name. I was using the web browser on my iPad when suddenly and unexpectedly the Activation Lock screen appeared and demanded that I sign in. The iPad is not lost or stolen, and neither are any of my other devices. I'm sitting here with them now.

When I sign in, the appropriate user login info is required.

Well, if it came up while you were browsing the web, then it could very well be a scam. What was the exact message that you saw?

GB

Will T. wrote:

 

"Where's My Device" is my feeble attempt to remember the app's name. I was using the web browser on my iPad when suddenly and unexpectedly the Activation Lock screen appeared and demanded that I sign in. The iPad is not lost or stolen, and neither are any of my other devices. I'm sitting here with them now.

That sounds like a phishing scam, not a legitimate feature.

I saw a plain white screen that said Activation Lock and asked for my Apple ID and password. There was an option to get help with activation lock, but when you clicked there it just explained that Find My iPhone had been activated and that you had to login to unlock the iPad. You could not otherwise exit the screen. Then when I logged in, everything returned to normal. The website I was using at the time was al.com, the website for the Birmingham News, the largest paper in Alabama. It's unlikely that the Birmingham News was trying to steal my info. I have since erased all content and settings through the Reset menu in the General settings menu, and I've changed my Apple ID password. However, after resetting I ended up having to go back through the same activation menu which makes me nervous.

That was not anything generated by iOS and was definitely not a legitimate message. You're right that it would not have come from the newspaper itself, but an advertiser on their web site or a 3rd party site lnked by a cookie trail from your web browsing history.

If it happens again, just double click the home button and quit the browser by swiping up. Then go into settings, safari and delete all cookies and history.

Activation lock is never going to cause a web browser popup message - any such message is a phishing scam.

OK, so if you Erased All Content and Settings, you would see the Activation Screen again. So, if that is what you did, then that is normal. However, I am still a bit dubious about the screen coming up out of the blue. That screen comes up when a new device is being activated (and by new, I mean one that is being set up from Factory Settings).

As for the rest - what Michael said....

Best of luck,

GB

I found this thread after my husband had an almost identical experience with his iPad Mini last night.  He was browsing Youtube when suddenly, same as the OP, a white screen appeared which said "Activation Lock", it displayed his correct Apple ID and was asking for the password.  The "Help" message also indicated that Find My iPhone had been activated (which it hadn't - his 2 MBPs were turned off and his iPhone was in standby mode).  He wasn't able to get out of or bypass the screen without logging in.  Once he did so, everything seemed to be working OK but he changed his Apple ID password and his email password (just in case) and also deleted his Safari browsing history and cookies.

It certainly seems from the posts in this thread that it was a phishing scam of some sort - the concern is of course that because we don't know where it came from, that it may happen again.  My husband said the white screen didn't appear to be a "pop-up", but we've noted Michael Black's instructions (thank you!) on what to try if it does happen again.  Is there anything else we could try if those instructions don't work for some reason - maybe a forced restart?

The instructions provided will do everything that needs to be done. They are web pages that come up based on where and what you are browsing, and what you click on when you are browsing. So, as Michael said, double-click the Home key, close teh window, and then go to Settings>Safari and delete all Website and Browsing data.

Cheers,

GB

Thanks GB, much appreciated.  It was such an unexpected thing to happen, it threw us a bit at the time, so you can understand my concerns! 

Yes - it is disconcerting. But as long as you can recognize them, you are one step ahead of the lowlifes. I get at least one, sometimes more than one email from "Google" and "FedEx" telling me I have an important message. I kind of get a bit of a kick trashing them as fast as I see them......

GB

最后更新：2017-09-15 08:37:59

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