Fraudsters are texting fake “Apple Pay fraud alerts” to trick people into authorizing their own transfers—making it almost impossible to recover any lost money.
Forbes reported that Apple is warning iPhone users about a surge in scam calls and texts that impersonate Apple, Apple Support, or Apple Pay security. These messages often claim there’s suspicious activity on your account, a blocked Apple Pay transaction, or a problem that needs “urgent” attention, and then push you to click a link or call a phone number where scammers try to steal passwords, verification codes, or financial details.
Apple’s guidance is simple: if you receive an unexpected call or message claiming to be from Apple, do not answer, do not call back any number in the message, and do not click links or share any codes or passwords. Instead, hang up and contact Apple only through official channels you find yourself (the built‑in Support app, apple.com, or the phone number on Apple’s website), and forward suspicious messages to reportphishing@apple.com.
To reduce the incidence of fake messages reaching your eyes, on your iPhone (sorry, Android users, I’m no help here, but I imagine they’re targeting Google Pay users as well):
1) Go to Settings → Apps → Messages → Unknown Senders and turn on “Screen Unknown Senders”.
2) Enable Filter Spam: Under Text Message Filter, choose Text Message Filter or another spam filtering service you might already subscribe to.
3) Never click suspicious links, even if they look like Apple or your bank/brokerage firm.
4) Keep your iPhone operating system (iOS) up to date to ensure you have the latest security updates: Settings → General → Software Update and turn on Automatic Updates if they’re not already on.
Source: Apple Warns All iPhone Users—Do Not Answer These Calls And Texts-Forbes Article
Sam H. Fawaz CFP®, CPA, PFS is the President of YDream Financial Services, Inc., a fee-only investment advisory and financial planning firm serving the entire United States. If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any other retirement, college, tax, or financial planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first, with no products to sell. If you are not a client, an initial consultation is complimentary, and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We begin with a thorough assessment of your unique personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client’s financial plan and investment objectives are unique.
TheMoneyGeek Unplugged 