Apple Card Apparently unauthorized purchase with Apple Card today

[brgjoe]

Today just before I was about to go to work, a charge popped up on my Apple Card from some place for $200. It was listed as a business in my town, but we have no such business named that here. I suppose it could be the name of the parent company, but I looked later it appeared to be some sort of a gas station/convenience mart.

Well I do know I didn't purchase gas recently and not anywhere near $200. So I disputed the charge. And immediately someone from Apple was there to chat with me and help me out (very impressed with that, btw). He/she said that the charge was made using the physical card. I went to my (physical) wallet and my card was still there. I don't see how a charge could be made with the actual card when I had the card in my possession(?)

Anyway, they are sending me a replacement card. Anyone else have an issue similar? And any issues deactivating old card and activating the new one?

 

[chscag]

I don't have an Apple Card (don't want or need one) but I have had the same thing occur with both my personal credit cards and also my business credit cards. It used to be easy to clone a credit card if someone got hold of your number. It's much more difficult with the later cards embossed with a chip.

In any event, you're not responsible for the charge and it should be removed. I don't know about how Goldman Sachs handles this but my credit card holders always took care of it immediately and sent me a new card within 5 or 6 days.

 

[brgjoe]

Yeah, I don't see how someone could have found my Apple Card number. I always keep the card with me and the numbers aren't printed on the outside. And I have always used the chip reader, not the magnetic strip. Maybe it was spoofed some other way. Just thought this would be like one of the last kind of card that would get compromised. Oh well.

The individual said a replacement card would be sent to me. Have to admit, up to this point anyway, the customer service from Apple (and/or Goldman Sachs) has been excellent.

 

[Prof.]

I just had a fraudulent $330 charge on my Apple Card.

After a 5 min chat with Apple Support via iMessage, my card has been updated to a new number and I get to keep the same physical card somehow.

The process was very seamless. I got a push notification about unusual activity that was automatically declined. I reviewed the purchase and selected the "purchase was not made by me" option and that was it.

 

[jaytv111]

If you ever use the magstrip then that's the vulnerability. It could have been skimmed from say a gas station pump. If you ever use it at a hotel or car rental, they still swipe it and use the card number (they want to be able to charge later so having the card number facilitates that), and there could even be database leaks from those places that leak your card number. Then someone makes a physical card with magstrip only and they can use it in any card reader. Until we get rid of the magstrip this will continue to happen (and we probably can't get rid of magstrip until we're sure international transactions will work, and they make prepaid debit cards with chips, I believe those are still magstrip only). EMV (the chip in the Apple Card and many other cards with chips and some have contactless on the card) and Apple Pay/other mobile wallets safeguard against any kind of skimming or database leaks because nothing is usable for future transactions.

Also, Apple Card basically has 2 card numbers, one online and one for the physical card. If your online card number is compromised then they can generate a new number and you can use the physical card still. If your physical card is compromised then they have to send a new card. It sounds like they believe the card was skimmed rather than the online number was compromised because they can let you still use the physical card if only the online number was compromised.

 

[brgjoe]

That's the thing in my case though. I *never* have used the magstrip. It's always either Apple Pay or using the chip. Still don't know how it was skimmed.

But yeah, Apple Support was great. After a couple of message exchanges, they sent me a new physical card and got rid of that bogus charge on it. Very impressed.

 

[jaytv111]

It could have been hacked from the finance backend as well.

Really it could have been read anywhere and anytime if someone has a little reader and you let it out of your sight for a few seconds. Not saying that's what happened but that's unfortunately the world we live in where it's easy to copy one part of a card in seconds. But the chip part is basically uncopyable, only if you can access a scanning electron microscope and carefully de-lid the chip could you read the data on it, very difficult.

 

[Prof.]

Just another reason why to never use your debit card, except for when you are at the bank.

I'd rather have my Apple Card maxed out, than someone clean out my checking account.

 

[jimkingwood]

I just had a fraudulent $330 charge on my Apple Card.

After a 5 min chat with Apple Support via iMessage, my card has been updated to a new number and I get to keep the same physical card somehow.

The process was very seamless. I got a push notification about unusual activity that was automatically declined. I reviewed the purchase and selected the "purchase was not made by me" option and that was it.

yes, the card number is not stored physically with the card. The card number is listed in the wallet app and associated with your Apple ID. Apple can just change the card number any time without sending you a new card. Interesting feature, actually.