How thieves can access your bank account from your iPhone

Spring, Texas – Mobile payment applications are very popular. You can pay in stores with your cell phone but with that convenience comes risk. KPRC 2 Investigates has three ways to protect your money and reduce the risk that thieves can get their hands on it.

A warning about setting up Apple Cash on your phone

If you have an iPhone, you probably have Apple Pay set up. But you probably don’t realize what you’re being called to Apple money on your device. Apple Cash is a peer-to-peer money transfer service with no security. A spring girl who contacted our group found out the hard way.

Single mother Stormi Spurlock is saving her money to buy a house. So you can imagine her anxiety when she woke up to multiple fraud alerts from Chase Bank.

Three fares: Delta Airlines at $977 each, Macy’s at over $500 and Best Buy at $1,000.

“I was freaking out. Like, ‘Oh my God, my money’s gone.’

With her bank account locked online, Spurlock put her in the car and made a reservation for Chase. A bank employee immediately helped Spurlock close his account and transfer the remaining money to a new account.

But two large transfers, one for $2,000 and another for $1,000, were sent to an Apple account on her phone. And she was locked out. Spurlock called Apple from the bank.

“Is there anything, can you transfer my money to my bank? They say no because my account is completely locked,” Spurlock said.

Because Spurlock set up his Apple Pay with a debit card, the thieves were able to move the money.

Apple Cash vs. Apple Pay

If you have an iPhone, you should know that you have Apple Money. Apple Cash is different from Apple Pay. Apple Cash is a peer-to-peer payment app like Venmo or Jelle, but even if you haven’t downloaded or set it up, you probably don’t realize Apple Cash is already on your phone.

Spurlock never used Apple Money, but now thieves are using it to steal her money.

Here are 3 things you can do to protect yourself from thieves on your iPhone

1. Don’t use a debit card

Set up your Apple Pay account with your credit card, not a debit card. Criminals target Apple Money because it doesn’t offer buyer protection. If you send money to someone, you can’t get it back.

2. Check for spam texts

Don’t fall for phishing text messages with attachments, scammers trying to trick you into saying there’s a problem with your Apple Pay account.

3. Keep codes confidential

Never leave 2-factor authentication codes via text message, phone call, or email. Legitimate customer support agents will never ask for these codes. If someone wants you to give up yours, you’re dealing with a scammer, and if you give them the code, you’re giving them access to your Apple Pay.

We reached out to Apple for Spurlock. She needs to regain access to her Apple account and believes her $3,000 is still there, and her account is locked before the thieves can turn it over themselves.

If a scammer scams you on Apple Pay, there are a few things you can do to try to get your money back.

Apple Resources

Apple offers several resources to help users avoid scams when using Apple Cash All can be found here. In this support article, Apple shares tips on how to avoid scams, what to do if users have questions or concerns about a transaction, how to recognize scams, and more about the security and privacy features of using it. Apple money.

You can also review Apple Pay’s security and privacy overview here, This includes more details about Apple Cash.