A few days ago I was using the Google iOS app (not Chrome, but the specific "Google" app that you can download in the App Store) to go to shady website in an attempt to stream a movie online. Stupid, I know. I didn't download anything, and I didn't think I clicked on anything, but I started getting a prompt to call a number.
As far as I could tell, it wasn't any of the obviously fake ones that tell you to call a number because your phone is compromised or anything. It looked like the legit prompt that pops up when you click on a number in iOS where it has "Call 808-xxx-xxxx" on the top row and "Cancel" on the bottom row at the bottom of your screen. This is the prompt that comes up if you click on a number in any app.
Anyways, it popped up a thousand times and stopped when I killed the app. How does that exploit work? Did the webpage just trick my phone into thinking I clicked on a number a few dozen times? Is there any chance I got a virus from the website? Things have seemed fine since. Is there any way to tell if you have a virus aside from just the normal weird symptoms?
Best Answer
It seems more likely that this call button was actually just a part of the website. If so the fake button probably was an off-white color rather than pure white.
If your phone isn't jailbroken I wouldn't worry about it. Clear your browser cookies to be on the safe side but it's probably fine.
If you see any suspicious ads on your home screen or profiles being asked for you to trust then you should worry. If so reset your phone to factory settings or to an iCloud backup.
I recommend using Safari for these activities and blocking popups. Make sure to use a VPN.