Hey everyone,
I really need some advice here. My 11-year-old daughter's Apple account was hacked after she clicked on a suspicious link that she thought was for an app. Immediately, her device got locked, and her passcode stopped working.
Despite the account being for a minor and having family restrictions in place, somehow the hackers changed her device passcode, account password, and even the recovery phone number. As her parent and the Family Group Organizer, I received no alerts—no emails or notifications—about these changes.
Now, we can't access her phone, which is her only device linked to this account. I can't reset the password either because it requires the new phone number set by the hackers, which I obviously don't know.
Initially, when I contacted Apple, they helped me remove the Activation Lock, but now they're saying that I can't recover the account without that recovery phone number. I'm at a loss here—any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot!
5 Answers
Have you tried accessing Family Sharing settings from your own iPhone? You might be able to change her password since she's under 13. Just go to Settings > Family > Your Daughter's Name > Apple Account & Password to try changing it. But if the recovery number was changed, it could block any password changes, which is frustrating.
You might have to find the proof of purchase for her device to get it back, and then create a new account. Unfortunately, even if you manage to reset things now, the account will still be locked under the hacker's changes. Looks like the account might be lost for good.
Well, at least the activation lock is gone now. But I'm really bummed about the account itself being seemingly irretrievable.
Wow, that's wild! I would think Apple would have better security, especially for kid accounts. I'm now reconsidering how I manage my kids' devices.
It's strange how everything was changed without you knowing as the parent. Typically, clicking a link shouldn't lead to someone losing control of their Apple account like that. There may have been more to what happened. You might want to double-check if she unwittingly provided any info to them.
I completely agree, but she doesn’t know her account password since it was something I set. She only knows her screen lock passcode.
Just a heads up, the passcode can typically only be changed on the device itself. If the hackers accessed her phone, they could change a lot without notifying you. Just be aware of what settings to look out for in the future!
I really thought that would work! Unfortunately, once the hackers changed the phone number, I can't access the account even as a parent.