MANILA, September 10 — Cybercrime officials and police departments are warning the public about a new text-message scam targeting Apple Pay users, a tactic known as “smishing” — phishing conducted through SMS. The scheme begins with an unsolicited text message warning recipients of a sizeable charge to their Apple Pay accounts.
The text generally includes a high dollar amount, along with a fake case number and a strict countdown — for example, warning that a second identical charge will automatically go through within a short window if the recipient does not react. Recipients are urged to call a number to speak with “Apple Support” before the charge goes through.
That call is answered by a cybercriminal at a call center who poses as an Apple Support employee. The goal is personal information — the victim’s name, credit card number, email address associated with an Apple account, Apple ID credentials, or the security verification codes sent to their phone.
How the scam works
Authorities describe it as a high-pressure phishing tactic designed to bypass logic using panic. The fake case number and the countdown work together to push a person into acting before thinking. But officials say it is very easy to avoid becoming a victim.
Anyone who receives one of these text messages should not reply, should not call the number provided, and should not click any links in the message. Instead, recipients should report it to their local law enforcement agency.
Apple will never send an unsolicited text message threatening an “auto-debit” or forcing a user to call a random number to stop fraud. To verify independently, users should close their messaging app and open the Apple Wallet app on their iPhone or log into their official banking app directly to check actual transactions. Apple Support will never ask for a password or SMS verification codes to “fix” an unauthorized charge.
What to do if you get the text
Those who receive the text should take a screenshot of the scam message, email the screenshot to Apple’s official monitoring team at [email protected], and forward the text to the global spam reporting number 7726, which spells SPAM, to alert wireless carriers. Then block the number and delete the text. The warning was reported by WSMV in Nashville, Tennessee.
The story is developing, and officials continue to urge the public to think before acting when receiving unexpected messages about their financial accounts.
