Stolen iPhone/Apple Pay issue

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Level 1

4 points

Stolen iPhone/Apple Pay issue

Hi all,

Hoping you can help with something I'm very puzzled about.

My iPhone 16 was stolen on Monday. I logged into iCloud, marked it as lost, and then set it to erase. Both the lost mode and erase are pending as the device is not online (last appearance Feb 24)

I also went through any step I could to disable Apple Pay.

And of course, I had both facial recognition and pincode set on the phone.

This morning, there were 6,000 euros worth of transactions on the card that I had had on Apple Pay. Such a nasty shock when I had assumed (perhaps incorrectly?) that the multiple layers of security would mean that card would be safe.

How could this happen? Am I missing something?
Is there anything else I could or should do? At this point I almost feel like I need to just delete my Apple account entirely and start over as I can't understand how or what they have access to.

Thanks for your help!!

Posted on Feb 28, 2025 8:45 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,158 points

Feb 28, 2025 8:56 AM in response to Lmundow

Did you receive a message claiming to be from Apple that said you phone was found and you need to provide your personal information? If so, this was sent from a scammer to get access to your phone. To get any details about your cards in Apple Pay, it requires the Passcode to your device, which no one would know other than you.

Contact the bank of your card issuer and they can verify the details about the charges and if the card number was used or by Apple Pay. Any previous subscription that you used with the card will still be billed to the card whether you have it in your Wallet or not. When you use Apple Pay, the unique token that is provided to Apple by your bank is sent to the merchant securely and they bill your card directly. Those transactions do not go through Apple.

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Answer 2

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,700 points

Feb 28, 2025 9:09 AM in response to Lmundow

The card number is not on your iPhone unless you stored it in your device in the Notes app. Apple Wallet only has available the last 4 digits. The expiration date, security code and 12 other digits of the account number are not stored on your iPhone.

Some banking apps or bank websites might make that information available.

This sounds like your number was skimmed from an ATM or transaction terminal. Have you used the physical card for transactions in the last 30 days?

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Answer 3

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,158 points

Feb 28, 2025 9:14 AM in response to Lmundow

That sounds like your physical card was used in a retail terminal that a scammer installed a skimmer/shimmer to read your card details. That is actually more common then people think. Gas stations are a frequent source of this problem when the scammer can tamper with the terminals overnight with little interruption, but of course happens at ATM machines or any other terminal where they have access.

You will need to dispute the charges with the issuing bank of the card. For my bank cards I have added to the Wallet, the card number is not even shown. All you see are the last 4 digits of the card.

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Answer 4

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,700 points

Feb 28, 2025 10:16 AM in response to Lmundow

The question is, did they use Apple Pay online or your card number, expiration date and security code? You said they used your card numbers and that information is not stored on your iPhone by Apple.

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Answer 5

Lmundow Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 28, 2025 9:02 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

Jim, thanks so much for the quick response. No, I didn't receive any message (as I didn't have a phone) and definitely didn't send my passcode to anyone. This is why I'm so baffled by the entire thing.

The card transactions were all online (Bloomingdales etc - I'm in the UK), so it's like they got my card number (ie not direct Apple Pay transactions) - and it is the card that I had on Apple Pay. I still have my physical card, it wasn't stolen.

So I'm just baffled how they could do that without my passcode - or if they have it (which, again, I did not send it to anyone) how they could see the card number when I have facial recognition etc set up.

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Answer 6

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,700 points

Feb 28, 2025 9:19 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

FYI:

”Apple doesn’t store or have access to the original credit, debit, or prepaid card numbers that you use with Apple Pay. And when you use Apple Pay with credit, debit, or prepaid cards, Apple doesn't retain any transaction information that can be tied back to you. Your transactions stay between you, the merchant or developer, and your bank or card issuer.”

Apple Pay security and privacy overview - Apple Support

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Answer 7

Lmundow Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 28, 2025 9:35 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

Jim and Jeff, thank you both!

So it looks like I actually just had the unluckiest week ever in the sense that my iphone was stolen AND my bank card was skimmed, and that the card being used 3 days after the phone was stolen is completely coincidental?

I have definitely used the physical card in the last 30 days for sure.

I almost have to laugh at that level of bad luck, but if the experts (you guys) tell me that's the only explanation then I believe it. I was most worried that they somehow had access to the phone unlocked and therefore had access to everything

Thanks so much again for your help

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