How to remove “Chance To Win The New iPad Pro” scam

“Chance To Win The New iPad Pro” is a fake message used to lure out users' personal information

“Chance To Win The New iPad Pro” is a bogus website created by scammers to lure out people's personal information. The site claims that users have been selected to win an iPad. The full message reads as follows:

Congratulations!
You Have Been Selected
Get a chance to win the brand new iPad Pro,
included in the lovedates Trial

Obviously, the giveaway is not real. Crooks use various social engineering techniques^[1] to convince people that it is true. The page displays messages from supposed previous winners to make it more believable but these testimonies are also fabricated. Apple has nothing to do with this fraudulent campaign as well.

“Chance To Win The New iPad Pro” scam in detail

That something is not right, should give away the fact that users are asked to fill out personal details to “claim” the prize. People are asked to enter their email, phone, zip code, card holder name, card number, expiration, and security code. By having this information, cybercriminals can steal users' funds.

The page was solely created for monetary gain. We previously wrote about a similar online scam “You’ve made the 16.39-billionth search!” Once people enter their information on such a site, threat actors can use it for malicious purposes. Often the information is sold on underground forums.

If you provided your personal details to crooks, you should contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. You may be able to do it just in time before fraudsters can reach your funds. If you entered any passwords, make sure to change them as well.

Distribution methods

Scam pages, like “Chance To Win The New iPad Pro” rarely appear in the search results. Usually, they hide on other shady pages that are unregulated. For example, sites that engage in illegal activities are full of deceptive ads and sneaky redirects. We recommend only visiting pages that you know and trust. Do not click on random links and ads even if they seem to be promoting legitimate products or services.

There is another possibility that the deceptive page appeared without any user input automatically. That can happen if you are infected by adware.^[2] It is advertising-supported software that can cause an increased amount of commercial content, like pop-ups, banners, and redirects. It may place ads from rogue advertising networks^[3] leading to dangerous pages.

To avoid adware infections, you should not use freeware^[4] distribution platforms. They include additional programs in the installers without disclosing it clearly. Use only official web stores and developer websites. You should also always choose the “Custom” or “Advanced” installation methods, read the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The most important part is to check the file list and untick the boxes next to any unrelated apps.

Fix your browser

After an encounter with a site like this, you should take care of your browser. Follow the guide below:

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Cookies are small text files that can track your browsing activity and store information, like your IP address, geolocation, websites you visit, links you click on, and things you purchase. This data is normally used to personalize the user experience but crooks use it to make a profit. They can be sold to advertising networks and other third parties.

They can even be hijacked, and used for malicious purposes, that is why security experts recommend clearing them regularly. This process can be made easy with a maintenance tool like FortectIntego. Besides, this powerful software can fix various system errors, corrupted files, and registry issues which is especially helpful after a virus infection.

Otherwise, you can follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Clear cache and web data:

1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
4. Click Clear data.

Reset Google Chrome:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:

1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
5. Confirm with Reset settings.

Check your system for adware

If you have performed all the previous steps but you still experience unwanted symptoms, you might have a PUP (potentially unwanted program) installed in your system that is generating ads in the background without your consent. Such programs are known as adware, and usually, they sneak into the system from freeware distribution platforms.

If you are unsure, that your system is completely safe and you still experience unwanted symptoms, you should use anti-malware tools like SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes or other trusted ones and scan your system. Security software can also prevent such infections in the future by giving you a warning about suspicious programs. If you want to try it yourself, follow the instructions for Windows and macOS:

Windows 10/8:

1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.

Windows 7/XP:

1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Mac:

1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.