Beware of Apple "Your Mac has a virus!" scam

I can’t give you all the link to this website as I hadn’t joined then.
Update: I have found the link! Here is a screenshot of the website I got from Apple Support:


Website (not full one): apple.com-supportcenter.pro
Here is the story:
I got redirected to a website on my iPad Air 3 and it told me that my MAC had gotten a virus (what a stupid website to call my iPad a Mac). It had a pretty legit apple top bar (apple website buttons on top) and it had the word “apple.com” on its website.
Q: Does the word “apple.com” in the url name prove that it is a legit website?
A: ABSOLUTELY NOT
THESE ARE MEANT TO TRICK YOU.
How to look out for these kind of scams:
Read the ENTIRE website name first. Don’t jump to conclusions when you see a mere “apple.com” in the link.
For my case, click some unrelated buttons like the “Mac” or “iPhone” buttons that should redirect you to the respective pages. They don’t work!
Google authentication scams: try to click the “Forgot Password” button. It doesn’t work!
This website has been flagged by YouTuber Siam Alam where he showed the same website I got redirected to.
Take care!

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Just FYI. Mac CAN get viruses. It’s just a matter of writing code the OS understands and getting it to run on the system. Whether it be through some kind of browser exploit, or just by tricking the user into thinking it’s legit software.

Apple got sued and lost a class action lawsuit for false advertising for making that claim for so long. “Mac can’t get viruses”.

So anyone who makes the claim that Mac needs antivirus isn’t lying. It just happens to be the case that most malware is made for windows because the most valuable data to steal and/or hold for ransom is on windows computers.

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Yup I once saw Wannacry running in macOS

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Also, it is already obvious that it is fake because why would a browser website scan your drive without your consent

It depends. If the attacker running the website gets the IP address of your router/modem, they could break into your network to look through your files. Which is why that you should ALWAYS use a VPN. Online creepers are everywhere in varying amounts. The firewall and ports at a VPN’s proxy doesn’t have any of the vulnerabilities that a home-user router does.

I personally use PIA’s shadowsocks feature, routing my traffic through a second location. NordVPN can do something similar that’s called “double VPN”

Be sure to use your VPN’s killswitch on the most aggressive setting too