An unexpected text claiming there’s a charge or account problem with Apple Pay doesn’t prove the charge is real or that your account is compromised. Don’t call the number or tap the link in the message. Open Wallet or your card issuer’s official app or website yourself to check.

What you need

Use Wallet or the official app or website for the bank or card issuer that handles your payment. If you want to report an Apple-impersonation text to Apple, keep a screenshot.

How to recognize an Apple Pay scam text

Jordan Liles explains how fake Apple Pay alerts can pressure recipients to call or click, and why it’s safer to contact Apple through an official channel.

A suspicious message may claim that Apple Pay was used for an unauthorized charge, that a card is suspended, or that your account needs urgent attention. It may ask you to call a number, tap a link, share account details, or read out a verification code. Apple describes fake Apple Pay charge claims and offers to reverse the charges as a social-engineering tactic. Apple’s guidance says not to respond to suspicious messages or share your Apple Account password or verification code with someone claiming to provide support.

A familiar sender name or an existing bank-message thread isn’t proof that a text is genuine. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security explains that spoofed sender information can make a fraudulent text appear in the same thread as legitimate bank messages. Check any claimed charge through an app or website you opened independently.

Check the charge without using the text

  1. Open Wallet or your card issuer’s official app yourself. Look for the claimed transaction there. If you use the issuer’s website instead, type its address or use a saved bookmark rather than following the text’s link.
  2. Contact the issuer through a number you obtained independently if you need help checking a charge. Don’t use the number in the message.
  3. Don’t share your Apple Account password or verification code with anyone responding to the text. Apple says it doesn’t request those details to provide support.

If the charge doesn’t appear in the account you checked, the text itself still isn’t a reliable way to determine what happened. Keep using the issuer’s independently reached support channel for questions about your account.

Report the text in the United States

Forward the suspicious text to 7726 (SPAM), then report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also file an unwanted-text complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC says it does not resolve individual complaints.

For an Apple-impersonation text, Apple also accepts a screenshot at reportphishing@apple.com. In Messages, use Report Junk if that option appears.

If you shared account or payment information

If you entered your Apple Account password on a site from the message, change the password promptly and make sure two-factor authentication is enabled, as Apple advises. If you shared card or bank details, contact the issuer using its independently obtained official number. If you sent money, report the fraud to the FTC and contact the relevant financial institution through its official channel.