A fraud alert is designed to interrupt your day. Before you have checked the account, you are already thinking about how to protect it. A scammer only needs that reflex to point you toward the wrong next step.
Nassau County police say a 76-year-old Long Island woman lost $60,000 after an Apple Pay impersonation text. ABC7 reported the warning on September 14, 2026; the incident happened in late August.
Sources: ABC7 New York
The text was the opening move
According to police, the message directed the woman to call a number. Someone posing as a bank representative claimed an extra $30,000 had reached her account. She was persuaded to withdraw cash and hand it over in person, then do it again.
This was an impersonation scheme using Apple Pay’s name. The reporting does not establish that Apple Pay was breached. The useful lesson is the handoff: a supposed security problem becomes a conversation controlled by the person behind the message.
Sources: ABC7 New York
The red flags are in the instructions
Apple warns that impostors may invent unauthorized Apple Pay charges and pressure you to act before contacting Apple yourself. Familiar branding and a convincing caller do not make the instructions trustworthy.
- The alert supplies a number or link and insists you use it immediately.
- The caller discourages you from hanging up and checking independently.
- A supposed fix involves withdrawing cash, moving money, or meeting a collector.
- Someone asks for your password, device passcode, or verification code.
- The caller wants you to turn off a security feature to resolve the problem.
Sources: Apple Support · Federal Trade Commission
How to check an unexpected alert
“If you get an unsolicited or suspicious phone call from someone claiming to be from Apple or Apple Support, just hang up.”
Leave the message’s route behind.
Do not reply, follow its link, or call its number. If you have already called, hang up before checking. You do not need the caller’s permission to do that.
Reach the real company yourself.
Open the bank app you normally use, or dial the number printed on your card. For an Apple account concern, use Apple’s official support channels. Explain what the message claimed and ask them to check.
Keep account access private.
Apple says it will not ask for your password or verification codes to provide support. Do not read a code aloud just because someone says they are protecting your account.
Give yourself room to think.
Write down what you were asked to do. Reading those instructions to someone you trust can make a confusing conversation much easier to assess.
Sources: Apple Support · Federal Trade Commission
If you already responded
Contact your bank or card issuer immediately if you sent money or exposed account details. Explain the payment method and ask what can be stopped, reversed, or secured. Recovery is not guaranteed, but the FTC recommends asking the company involved promptly.
If you shared a password, change it through the real service and change it anywhere else you reused it. If you cannot sign in, use the service’s account recovery process. Enable two-factor authentication once the account is secure.
Keep the text, call details, and payment records. Report a cash handoff to local police, and submit the scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Report the text as junk or forward it to 7726 (SPAM). Apple also accepts screenshots of impersonation texts at reportphishing@apple.com.
Sources: Federal Trade Commission · Federal Trade Commission · Apple Support
Pass along the habit, not the panic
The most useful thing to share is a simple habit: check an alarming message through a channel you chose yourself. If someone tells you they responded to a scam, help them take the next step. Embarrassment should not become another obstacle.
An unfamiliar number can be checked on PhoneYa for community reports and available complaint data. A lookup provides context, not proof of identity or safety. Caller ID can be spoofed, and a number with no reports can still be part of a scam.
Sources: Apple Support
Sources & further reading
- ABC7 New YorkNassau police warn of Apple Pay text scam after woman lost $60,000 · September 14, 2026
- Apple SupportRecognize and avoid social engineering, phishing, and support scams
- Federal Trade CommissionIs that unexpected text a scam?
- Federal Trade CommissionWhat to do if you were scammed
Our reporting summarizes the sources above. Read our editorial standards and correction policy.
Someone you know should see this.
Send them the warning before a scammer gets in touch.