Breaking into Mac laptop

[Burnadell]

My BIL's son died from Covid. He was single, worked from home for a tech company. He changed the password every month on his laptop. After his death, there have been some withdrawals from his bank accounts. My BIL needs to access the computer to locate any financial assets because his son did everything online...no paper statements, etc. He was told by someone (I don't know who) that a Mac laptop cannot be accessed without the password. Is this correct? Is there NO WAY to get into the Mac without the password even by techy wizards?

[Pedernal]

If I remember correctly Mac’s come with a “recovery” cd ( not sure if that is the correct terminology) or at least they did in the past. I have done it to my old MacBook Pro(2010) in the past. I will try to find the procedure and post it if I can find it.

[Burnadell]

Originally Posted by Pedernal

If I remember correctly Mac’s come with a “recovery” cd ( not sure if that is the correct terminology) or at least they did in the past. I have done it to my old MacBook Pro(2010) in the past. I will try to find the procedure and post it if I can find it.

Thanks! I wondered if the Geeks at Best Buy could do it.

[ThisLadyHunts]

Originally Posted by Burnadell

Thanks! I wondered if the Geeks at Best Buy could do it.

Some Best Buys have dedicated Mac specialists on staff so it might not be a bad idea to check. For years, my parents took theirs to a guy at the Best Buy in Bryan/College Station before they move a year-and-a-half ago. I believe his name is Leland. If you can’t find anyone locally, you might give him a call.

My condolences to your BIL and his family. I wish I had more to offer.

[Pedernal]

Originally Posted by Burnadell

Thanks! I wondered if the Geeks at Best Buy could do it.

they might be able to do it or be able to lead him in the right direction. Or he might consider an Apple store and their “experts/geeks”.

[BTLowry]

My son had an ipad he used in school that I used for a long time, it decided one day to lock itself and we tried every password he ever used to no avail.
Even the Apple store people could not get in it.

It is still in a drawer somewhere in the house.

Good luck
On one hand it is nice to have that level of security, on the other like you are dealing with now it is not

[JayB]

Another option is go to the bank and freeze all withdrawals

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW ace using Tapatalk

[Deadfall65]

I was told the same from a Best Buy geek about having to have a password for a MacBook Pro. He said they can’t be hacked.


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[Rubberdown]

Sorry to hear that. You might try a data recovery place if they can’t unlock the computer. (I don’t think they can). Depending on the computer they can take that hard drive and use it as a secondary hard drive and read it that way. Apple did integrate some of the hard drives and stuff which makes that harder sometimes but it’s an avenue to check out.

[WTX]

Pm sent

[Kevin]

The version matters a lot. Plus if he was using disk encryption. Could be easy, could be really difficult.

Was the mac his personal or work computer?

[Burnadell]

Originally Posted by Kevin

The version matters a lot. Plus if he was using disk encryption. Could be easy, could be really difficult.

Was the mac his personal or work computer?

The laptop was his personal computer. He had a desktop and 3-4 monitors for his work...those have already been packed up and sent to his company, Rackspace.

I will try to find the Mac model, but don't you have to login to get the model off of it? My Mac has no info on the outside.

[SmTx]

Tough deal.

Do y'all know his email address and can you try to get into his personal email? I'd imagine that's going to be an easier route then getting into the Mac.

[Burnadell]

Originally Posted by SmTx

Tough deal.

Do y'all know his email address and can you try to get into his personal email? I'd imagine that's going to be an easier route then getting into the Mac.

Yes he has his son's email address. How do you get "into" that without a password?

[Kevin]

If he has his AppleID/email he should be able to get in, regardless of the model. There is a recovery step using that method.

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-...ick%20Next.%20



Model should be on bottom, but I’ll have to look at mine in a bit, apple is cryptic about that.

I do reverse engineering so this stuff is parallel to that line of work. If I had any time, I would offer to try.

[Kevin]

Oh he has his email address but can’t actually login?

PM me the email I can do a cursory look.

Unfortunately if he worked for Rackspace, he probably had decent security practices.

[Burnadell]

Thanks, Kevin. You are correct about the location of the Model #. I looked at mine, and it is just so small that I had to get a magnifying glass. My bI is on his way to Dallas today to finish cleaning out his son's condo.

[dustoffer]

I have an iPad that updated and then I was unable to unlock it as I had forgotten the password. Took it to an apple store and they wouldn’t unlock it without the sales receipt to prove I was the owner and it wasn’t stolen.

In this case, with a death certificate, you might be able to get it opened.

[AtTheWall]

Have his Dad look for an external backup drive, his son may of used periodic updates to run backups externally to cover his data. If he used TimeMachine (MACs backup program), you may be able to mount this external backup drive to your MAC, and check for access?

The newer MAC Book Pro laptops come with a T2 chip, you can't pull the SSD (drive) out and mount it since the drive is encrypted by the T2 chip on the primary MACs motherboard.

If he turned on FILEVAULT, it will be impossible to gain access to any data and or login info. By default, FILEVAULT is not turned on and must be specifically selected by the owner.

Find his backup drive. If you do, you can locate a relatively newer MAC, and run a restore from his TimeMachine backup, to a different MAC but, the hope is, he didn't encrypt his backups to the external drive.

If he did, it will be impossible to gain access to the backup.

[TxBowHntr]

I am sorry for what your BIL is having to go through. Prayers up for the family.

I am not tech savvy so I am not trying to give advice on how to get into the computer. But a potential solution to the problem would be to go to the bank and have them freeze the account(s). It seems like this would be an easier solution to stopping the withdrawals than getting into the laptop. A power of attorney and/or death certificate should be enough to have the accounts frozen.

[WItoTX]

Originally Posted by JayB

Another option is go to the bank and freeze all withdrawals

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW ace using Tapatalk

This. Bring evidence to bank, tell them everything needs to be frozen, and start there.

Also, how do they know there are withdrawal's from the account if they do not have access?

[AtTheWall]

And prayers and condolences to you and the family - Mr. Randy.

[jmac24]

My son had his Mac stolen in College Station in December. He could look on his phone and give the police a general idea where it was as long as it was still on. He went to the Best Buy guys to get another one and told them his story. They did a little digging and told him that unless they found someone on the inside at Apple, no one was getting into the computer. Not sure if it is true, but this is what the Geek told him.

[yaqui]

1. Get a death certifiacate.
2. Have his bank accounts frozen.
3. Talk to the folks at Rackspace about the current password her was using. It might be the same. But there may be a way to check the password login via Terminal.
4. His backup may be on the cloud.
5. Have his dad look all around the house for a password for the laptop. And a password for a Password app that stores all his passwords. Most tech folks do this.
6. The passwords may be different for each bank account and for each service.
Good luck to you.
It is not impossible, but it may take a long while. Have the dad talk to his other tech friends and ask them too, they may have taken about it. I keep an envelope at work that says open if I am dead. It has my master password to my password app. I have no idea what my passwords are for anything. Except TBH. That one is pretty easy...

[Burnadell]

Thanks for alll of your input. For the record, his bank account is now frozen, and he has a death certificate. This is a complicated story, and my BIL is 82 years old, going blind, almost dysfunctional, and is hardheaded and a dumbarse...has not listened to my advice.

His 51 year old son was a hoarder and shopaholic. When my wife drove them to Dallas for the first time to the condo (6 days after his son had died!), they were all in shock and overwhelmed at what they saw. His son had a roommate, and his roommate's friend were there and had already gone through everything. Both of them are tech guys, and we believe they withdrew the funds from his 401k/bank and likely his passwords. Not only that, his son's wallet and telephone were missing. It is a fustercluck, and my nephew in Dallas has now taken charge, but he does not like confrontation and has not confronted the roommate and his friend, so I have been trying to guide them...problem is they don't listen and ignore my advice!!! Before my BIL and SIL went to Dallas to his son's condo I gave them a legal pad with a long list of things they needed to do to get control of his estate and assets. They did not follow my instructions and tossed the list!

[ThisLadyHunts]

Originally Posted by Burnadell

Thanks for alll of your input. For the record, his bank account is now frozen, and he has a death certificate. This is a complicated story, and my BIL is 82 years old, going blind, almost dysfunctional, and is hardheaded and a dumbarse...has not listened to my advice.

His 51 year old son was a hoarder and shopaholic. When my wife drove them to Dallas for the first time to the condo (6 days after his son had died!), they were all in shock and overwhelmed at what they saw. His son had a roommate, and his roommate's friend were there and had already gone through everything. Both of them are tech guys, and we believe they withdrew the funds from his 401k/bank and likely his passwords. Not only that, his son's wallet and telephone were missing. It is a fustercluck, and my nephew in Dallas has now taken charge, but he does not like confrontation and has not confronted the roommate and his friend, so I have been trying to guide them...problem is they don't listen and ignore my advice!!! Before my BIL and SIL went to Dallas to his son's condo I gave them a legal pad with a long list of things they needed to do to get control of his estate and assets. They did not follow my instructions and tossed the list!

With all of what I know was very specific advice and a thoroughly detail list, at the end of the day, when you send the little fish into the shark tank, all they get is devoured. Send a shark.

[Burnadell]

Originally Posted by ThisLadyHunts

With all of what I know was very specific advice and a thoroughly detail list, at the end of the day, when you send the little fish into the shark tank, all they get is devoured. Send a shark.

Yep, and when I asked my BIL if he had reported the fraudulent withdrawals, he said yes he had. Come to find out he just called the police and left a message; they have not called back! I am trying to obtain the roommate's friend's address, and I am going to get in his face. I LOVE confrontations!

Dee and I are going to Dallas tomorrow to drive them back since he has macular degeneration. On the way to Dallas, he hit a Sonic pull thru station, then sideswiped a car on the highway. We will not ride with him! Now he has a 16 ft trailer loaded with "stuff", and we don't want them killing themselves or someone else. Her sister suffers from severe neuropathy so she can't drive. Lots of drama!

[ThisLadyHunts]

Originally Posted by Burnadell

Yep, and when I asked my BIL if he had reported the fraudulent withdrawals, he said yes he had. Come to find out he just called the police and left a message; they have not called back! I am trying to obtain the roommate's friend's address, and I am going to get in his face. I LOVE confrontations!

Dee and I are going to Dallas tomorrow to drive them back since he has macular degeneration. On the way to Dallas, he hit a Sonic pull thru station, then sideswiped a car on the highway. We will not ride with him! Now he has a 16 ft trailer loaded with "stuff", and we don't want them killing themselves or someone else. Her sister suffers from severe neuropathy so she can't drive. Lots of drama!

All due respect, they sound like couple of factory rejects with spaghetti where their spines should be. (I feel comfortable saying this because I have a greater-than-average number of these in my family. It just kills me!)

I’m glad you’re going to Dallas and can’t wait to hear about. Please take some video, because there’s nothing I love more than a good a**-kickin’!

[Monark]

Originally Posted by ThisLadyHunts

All due respect, they sound like couple of factory rejects with spaghetti where their spines should be. (I feel comfortable saying this because I have a greater-than-average number of these in my family. It just kills me!)

I’m glad you’re going to Dallas and can’t wait to hear about. Please take some video, because there’s nothing I love more than a good a**-kickin’!

Sometimes I see good advice here & sometimes, not so much. This is one of the not so much ones.

Big shark going in with guns a-blazing will get you into a legal issue you don't want to have to deal with. If money was extracted from a 401K or bank account, there will be a trail. Follow this trail then let roommate's know it needs to return or legal repercussions are next. Techies are P--ssies. Shouldn't be too difficult.

[Burnadell]

Originally Posted by Monark

Sometimes I see good advice here & sometimes, not so much. This is one of the not so much ones.

Big shark going in with guns a-blazing will get you into a legal issue you don't want to have to deal with. If money was extracted from a 401K or bank account, there will be a trail. Follow this trail then let roommate's know it needs to return or legal repercussions are next. Techies are P--ssies. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Ain’t gonna be no guns a blazing approach. I don’t do that. I’m just going to get in their face with a few questions and “explain” the rules, but I don’t have his verified address yet. My BIL will be there if I can get him to go, but he is one of those who talks big but is actually a wuss.

[Monark]

Originally Posted by Burnadell

Ain’t gonna be no guns a blazing approach. I don’t do that. I’m just going to get in their face with a few questions and “explain” the rules, but I don’t have his verified address yet. My BIL will be there if I can get him to go, but he is one of those who talks big but is actually a wuss.

10-4. Confused here. His Dad has no access to his son's accounts but knows money has been extracted or moved? Sounds to me like he has access or otherwise he would not have known money was missing. Proof with a death certificate to Chase, Wells Fargo, Fidelity, Vanguard, Ameritrade or whoever should get you access to recent transactions. Hopefully the son established beneficiaries to his accounts. Follow the $$ movement. Best of luck to your BIL.

[Burnadell]

Originally Posted by Monark

10-4. Confused here. His Dad has no access to his son's accounts but knows money has been extracted or moved? Sounds to me like he has access or otherwise he would not have known money was missing. Proof with a death certificate to Chase, Wells Fargo, Fidelity, Vanguard, Ameritrade or whoever should get you access to recent transactions. Hopefully the son established beneficiaries to his accounts. Follow the $$ movement. Best of luck to your BIL.

He went to his local Chase Bank where he has accounts and asked the local rep if his son had an account. The local rep said he couldn't help until he had proper supporting proof of death (before he got the death certificate) and authorization, but the rep looked it up and saw that his son had an account and was surprised that there was a large deposit from the son's 401k several weeks after his death, then large withdrawals another week later. He told my BIL this even though he said he was not authorized to provide the info . and said that is all he would say. Chase is responsible for allowing the large withdrawal based on a fraudulent signature or whatever. So would his 401k manager (The Princple)be responsible. There have been several credit card accounts opened in the deceased name since he died also. As I said it is a fustercluck!