Scammers are quick of the mark.

[raybarrow]

Hi Folks,

In anticipation of going abroad I got one of the Mobile Banking a/cs (Starling) in 2019, so I could use it for free, putting on it a reasonable amount but not have all my wordly goods on it. All that went well and then Brexit, Covid, and all that went with that kicked off. Still haven't got abroad yet. We like to go river cruising but now I hear that the Rhine is almost impassable owing to the drought. What do they say about making God laugh by telling him your plans.

I thought in a moment of self education I would set this Bank's Debit Card up on Apple Pay. Again not too much on at any given time so not too much to loose. That was about a month ago and I haven't actually paid anything with apple Pay yet.

Today I got the "Your Apply Pay account has been blocked due to a network update - You can still pay by going to...". I think not mon ami.

I thought that was quite quick and as a newbie to Apple Pay could think it was something I had done or not done. Some businesses could learn a lot from the scammers.

Needless to say Ronald Reagan's 'Trust but verify' always sets the alarm bells ringing. His line "What happened to the rest of me?" after having both legs amputated in a railway accident on the film King's Row, also sticks with me for some bizarre reason.

Ray.

[DrFfybes]

Is this the first you've had, or simply coincidence?

MrsF got quite concerned when she got a Paypal scam email a couple of days after she'd opened an account, until I pointed out she got about one per month.

Paul

[richfool]

Yes, I had a a text the other day saying my Apple Wallet had been temporarily blocked and to go to a link to unblock it. Amusing isn't it, as I don't have an Apple wallet or indeed any Apple products at all.

[Mike4]

I use Starling and Apple Pay but I never get any of these helpful texts or emails.

How can I register for them?

[raybarrow]

Hi,

I use Starling and Apple Pay but I never get any of these helpful texts or emails.

How can I register for them?

Sorry, but I think it's by invitation only. You'll just have to wait and see.

Ray.

[XFool]

I use Starling and Apple Pay but I never get any of these helpful texts or emails.

How can I register for them?

I sometimes wonder the same thing! (although not a Starling or Apple Pay user myself - a clue?)

It's all a mystery...

I was going to post this the other day but didn't get around to it: I don't get Spam: "Am I special? " "No."

Consider, there are two sets of people:

1. The set of people who get spam - includes all individuals who get spam

2. The set of people who don't get spam - includes all individuals who don't get spam (includes me)

Now all individuals in Set 1 are people who get spam, who sometimes post about getting spam and agree with each other that "everyone" gets spam. (Because they all get spam!)

All individuals in Set 2 don't post about getting spam (because they don't get spam!), but read posts from individuals in Set 1 who are posting about spam and believe that "everybody" gets spam. (Because they all get spam!). People in Set 2 know not "everybody" does get spam.

That's solved(?) that. Now... the only remaining mystery is: What decides if you are in Set 1 or Set 2 (besides the bleedin' obvious)?

Is it purely random chance? Or is it something else? Is there some causative factor (maybe more than one)?

The mystery remains...

[Watis]

Yes, I had a a text the other day saying my Apple Wallet had been temporarily blocked and to go to a link to unblock it. Amusing isn't it, as I don't have an Apple wallet or indeed any Apple products at all.

I've just now received a similar text!

And, like richfool, I have no Apple wallet - or device - either.

Watis

[yorkshirelad1]

Got one this morning (I don't have Apple Pay or Apple phone, but that's not relevant really as the scammers are just mass-spamming)

Tue 16-Aug-2022 05:53 SMS 07542872758 SMS: "Apple: Your Apple Pay has been suspended, please update your details by visiting: apaywallet-help.com"

What was noticeable was that the text of the SMS was formatted (e.g. seemingly several words in bold) but I could not strip out the formatting.

[pje16]

apaywallet-help.com
using Firefox you get this

"Deceptive site ahead
Firefox blocked this page because it may trick you into doing something dangerous like installing software or revealing personal information like passwords or credit cards."

Good spot re the bold text

[yorkshirelad1]

Good spot re the bold text

I have an Android phone, not an Apple, and was wondering if the formatting codes were specific to Apple, or there's something untoward about the formatting codes that means something to a particular type of phone, but I haven't had time to look into it further just at the moment. Maybe I'm too cycnical, but I have tiny warning bells in the back of my mind about inserting or injecting code, but I may be overthinking.

[Watis]

apaywallet-help.com
using Firefox you get this

"Deceptive site ahead
Firefox blocked this page because it may trick you into doing something dangerous like installing software or revealing personal information like passwords or credit cards."

Good spot re the bold text

Maybe there's more than one group of scammers?

My text asks me to go to: https://myapple-wallet-restore <dot> com as my 'Apple Pay has been suspended due to unusual activity'.

Any activity in a non-existent account would be unusual!

Watis