Received a text message this morning:
It says: Apple Pay was removed from your mobile wallet on Friday the 17th of February. To continue to use contactless visit appleid -securepay. com
As I do not use a mobile wallet nor Apple Pay, I suspect it’s a scam?
Haven’t clicked on the link.
Can’t find the exact url of the link nor the phone number on the web
(+61 459 233 281)
SCAM would be my thoughts.
Our experience of the Apple-verse is such messages appear directly in your notifications on the device. Similar to advice from Apple when an update to install, or there is an offer to trial free Apple News+, or an item setup is incomplete, etc. No need for an SMS.
All security features are accessed directly through the device menus, and not by following web links. EG to update CC details or change account settings or add or delete from the wallet the IPhone or device secures access through your passcode. The userID password is also required in addition for the more critical actions.
That alone suggests it is a scam. Reputable multinationals and big business would have a 1800 or 1300 or minimally a landline.
Your web link goes to dodgy looking pages that are designed to phish information. Good that the hot link in your post was removed so others cannot just click through unless they are seriously determined.
First page
but it gets better
need more be added?
Definitely a scam, a dodgy URL, which I inactivated to avoid click-throughs
Almost certainly a scam, probably works the same as this one.
If you’re ever in doubt, google the customer service line of whatever company/institution the SMS claims to be from (i.e. don’t follow the link in the SMS), and ring/email them.
Same message received again just now.
As the url starts with ‘appleid’ I suspected that my online info ( password etc) was being phished.
My credit card number was fraudulently used a few weeks ago: $908.00 to a car park in Sydney. The bank has done a charge back, and has issued a new card.
Thank you @hswift for the useful link, and welcome to the community!
Definitely a scam. There are variants of this one for Facebook, Netflix etc. Eventually they will send to a user of such services who inadvertently fall for the scam.
The advice of never click on a url in a text, email or other sent messages applies. If one is unsure, only use known and regularly used urls as login to check the veracity of any received messages.
From Apple: "Apple Pay is the safe way to pay and make secure purchases in stores, in apps and on participating websites. Apple Wallet is the place where you store your eligible credit or debit cards so you can use them with Apple Pay."
So if your wallet is there, Apple Pay is there. Simple solution would be to look at your apple wallet, and if it is still there, see if there are any notifications.
If the wallet is there, and there are no notifications, it is all OK and it’s definitely bogus.
Similar to the scammers dream hope per,
‘McAfee SCAM "PLAN HAS BEEN DONE......."
Wisdom can be to put such emails and messages to one side for when your brain is in it’s best place and or look to someone independent for a reset.
It’s frustrating that for the more elaborate scams clarity can only come with a phone call to your bank, CC provider, internet RSP etc using contact details from a reliable source. EG contact details on the card, last invoice, bank statement etc.
Yes, scammers go fishing and are confident that they will eventually succeed.
I was taken by surprise at first because after the CC fraud I’ve capped and blocked and made changes to the use of the card, and for a moment I thought that maybe I had done something wrong. Totally confused panic because I don’t use a digital wallet.
Being asked to click on a link is a big red flag, we just need to take a deep breath and look into things without panicking or making wrong moves, after all we are smarter than fish!
There’s your answer right there.
They just send to “everybody” a message about each common service and, while it’s hit and miss, eventually they will hit someone who does actually use the service, and, within those, eventually they will find someone who is tricked.
Mind you, I received a text from the ATO the other day, demanding payment, that even contained a link … and I declared “SCAM!” immediately … but it turned out to be legitimate. Thanks, government.
That’s the beauty of legitimate notifications, you can usually contact the source even if you (wisely) don’t click on any link.
We also receive many emails on the business email address like (both received today):
and
We know that they are scam/phishing/malicious emails, and are often (not always) confirmed by email scanners and Thunderbird (and its extensions). We know that they are such emails as we have no relationship with the businesses in question and never click on links. They are reported and deleted.
I report email scams to the Scamwatch website; don’t forward the email, but print it and send it as an attachment. Text scams I forward to 0429 999 888. Then, of course I delete. I believe that it helps them to keep track of where scams are coming from and what form they are taking.
I know nothing about the Apple environment but this article may be of assistance - Recognise and avoid phishing messages, phoney support calls and other scams – Apple Support (AU) . Its advice goes wider than this particular scam for Apple users and advises “If you receive a suspicious email or SMS text message that looks like it’s supposed to be from Apple, please email it to reportphishing@apple.com.”
According to 0459 233 281, 0459233281 | Australia Reverse Phone “So far, Caller ID 0459233281 has a history of being a scam call. In total, this number has been found to be fraudulent 1 time. The last time this phone number was reported as a scam was on 17 February 2023.” Unless you are user Nakano you are not alone. If this wasn’t your report, consider adding your experience to warn others about this phishing scam.
It looks like the scammers cast a wide net yesterday. When I looked up the number in the morning there were no reports as yet (and no, I’m not nakano) but as we know numbers might be spoofed: last time I looked-up the number of my bank’s fraud department it was listed on reverseau as ‘scam’ by a few.
I have reported it and thought that posting here might also serve as an alert 
My niece recently received two text messages and one email from her bank, asking that she update her details. I was with her when she called into the bank as she had felt it was a scam and wanted to check that out with them. It seems that it was a genuine request and the update was dealt with then and there. I absolutely object to banks (or the ATO in the case stated above) or any other such organisations, sending such requests by email or text, considering just how many scams are out there, and growing!! It defies common sense that these people do that…ever. A hard copy letter sent by snail mail should be the way they transact such business. As well, seniors like myself can so easily be scammed via email & text and in fact they are!! (Though it has to be said that I am very untrusting so would not ever comply with this sort of email message without going in to the bank (or wherever) and checking this out. I have in the past reported such a scam to Scam Watch as others have done. I might also add in regards to myself, that I don’t have a mobile phone, nor do I want one!!)
In this day and age safety should be the standard, but I can see that organisations don’t want the cost of a hard copy (paper, postage and time) and so they spend as little of their mega profits as possible!! Safety is way way down their list of priorities. Do I have a jaundiced view? You bet your sweet bippy I do!!
Having a jaundiced view is just self-preservation, @Norma.
I don’t object to my bank and other businesses I deal with contacting me by email or text, but they should never include links in those messages, because the scammers are getting very good at making their phishing attempts look very much like the real thing. Once someone gets into the habit of trusting links in messages that seem to be from a trusted source like their bank or other business they deal with, they’re at high risk of falling into the next phishing trap.
My rule of thumb: on receiving a message that I wasn’t expecting but that might be valid, I don’t use the links or phone numbers given in the message - I go directly to the real website or call the real phone number. If this is something that really does need attention, it’ll be on the real website or known to the business’s call centre.
Regarding keeping safe online more generally, a great resource for non-digital natives is https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/ - I read through it to see if it would be helpful to my Dad and its great. They appear to update the website with topical content quite well. The recent ChatGPT news coverage was promptly covered in a podcast episode.
Snail mail is way too slow and no guarantee of being any more genuine than a text. Nigerian scams used to be snail mail.
Banks usually send messages to users from their banking apps.
That is the safest way to go. Also contacting a bank is much quicker and more direct through the contact site of the banking apps.
