New Apple Pay Text Scam Claims Account Has Been Suspended

Multiple text message scams are circulating around the world which claim that your Apple Pay has been suspended. We provide multiple examples of this scam and how to avoid this Apple Pay scam.

By Cameron Craig

Updated 12 January 2023

New Apple Pay Text Scam Claims Account Has Been Suspended — *Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels*

Key Finding

Users are sent a text message alert that their Apple Pay has been suspended.

Key Risk

This a scam and the text message is impersonating Apple. Entering your Apple user ID or the credit card linked to your Apple Pay Wallet will mean that you have given these details to a scammer.

A new Apple Pay scam text is circulating to try to phish users into providing their details to a fake website. This new text message scam joins others that are circulating in the UK, Australia and the US.

The text message purports to be from Apple Pay and claims that your account has been suspended due to a suspicious transaction and that you need to follow the link to rectify this. It is a phishing / impersonation scam and it is not a message from Apple.

Multiple domains have been used in this scam - see below for the list as not all text messages in this scam will look identical to the examples provided. However, the key to identifying this scam is that they are not Apple domains i.e. apple.com

New Apple Pay Suspended Scam Examples

There are multiple versions of this scam are in circulation with similar content, but each version has a new domain (scammers may have their domains shut down and have to roll their efforts to a new domain). The current scam in circulation uses the reactivation-online.com domain as can be seen in this screenshot below.

Apple pay scam — If you have received a text like this, do not follow the link or enter your details in the site. The text message is not from Apple.

Warning - The URL of reactivation-online.com is a scam domain.

Be Cautious

This domain may be temporarily be pointed to apple.com/au to look legitimate and then may switch back to the scam domain.

Other Apple Pay scam text examples include:

Apple Pay Scam Text Example

APPLE: Your apple pay has been suspended due to unusual activity. Please visit : https://myapple-wallet-id.com to update your wallet.

Note - The URL of myapple-wallet-id.com is a scam domain.

Apple Pay Scam Text Example

Your Apple Pay has been suspended, please update your details by visiting: redeem-my-suspension.com

Note - The URL of redeem-my-suspension.com is a scam domain.

Have you Clicked the Apple Pay Scam Text?

If you click on the suspicious link, there is no immediate threat from simply clicking.

However, you must close the tab - do not proceed with entering any details into this site.

Apple Pay Scam Website Example

Apple Pay scam domain — This is not an official Apple domain

How to Recover After Being Scammed

If you entered your details into the scam Apple Pay suspension / reactivation site, you must act quickly to ensure the scammer doesn’t gain access to your account or any of the accounts that you may entered. Follow these steps.

Try to recall exactly which user ID/ password and details you entered. In this scam it is likely your Apple ID or the credit card that you have linked to your Apple Pay wallet.
If you have entered your Apple ID, quickly change your password.
If you have entered the credit card or bank account that is linked with your Apple Pay wallet, immediately log into your bank account and place a lock on your card and contact your bank.
Monitor your credit card and bank account transactions to ensure the scammer isn’t making fraudulent transactions.
Report fraudulent transactions to your bank and Apple..

Is Apple Responsible & Will Apple Refund Me?

Apple is not responsible for this scam in anyway.

The scam is executed via text messages and the scammers are impersonating Apple. This text message is even sent to Android users as the scammers send out a bulk text message and they don't care who they target.

Victims are entering their details in a non-Apple website and Apple does not have anything to do with this scam. This scam is a true impersonation scam where the scammer is trying to deceive the user. Apple will not refund you if you fall victim to this scam. There are multiple types of Apple Pay scams which we detail in this article.

This Scam is Tricky

This scam may involve multiple attempts where the scammers point their websites at the official Apple domain and then redirect it at a later date. This technique is designed to deceive users. At the time of publication, the reactivation-online.com is pointing to Apple.com. This domain was only registered on January 5 and the scammers may be alternating the end points between their scam site and Apple.com/AU to make the domain look more legitimate.

Other Types of Scam Texts to Be Aware Of

Scammers are sending more and more scam text messages pretending to be from legitimate companies and banks:

Don't click on links within these texts or call the phone number listed. You should always find the genuine number for the company on their official website.