By Rachel Cronin

Copyright dailyrecord

Apple Pay users are being warned of a convincing scam that can catch out even the most tech-savvy among us. While contactless methods like Apple or Google pay are known for being secure, fraudsters can easily trick you into giving up your own information, allowing them to add your card to their Apple or Google wallet. Experts are warning of a particular scam where cyber crooks will phone users and pretend to be a bank representative. They will have already obtained some of your private details, like your address or billing address, which makes them sound credible to unsuspecting victims. They’ll tell you the bank needs to protect your account through an approval process that leads to sending you a notification, but in reality, this approval allows them to add your card details to their Google Pay or Apple Pay wallet. Danai Antoniou, former fraud systems engineer and co-founder at Gradient Labs explains: “Once they do that, the fraudster gains unrestricted access to your card through their phone, without any visible signs of this activity.” With this convincing scam in mind, the expert has shared some tips on how to protect yourself from fraudulent phone calls and what to do if the criminals have been successful in gaining access to your bank details. If your phone suddenly asks for biometric authentication and you weren’t expecting it – stop. That is probably not your bank. Your bank will never request you to assist with “securing” your card or approve a Face ID request. They do not need your permission to prevent fraud. If anything feels off, hang up and call your bank using the number on your card or the official website, not the number provided by the caller. Many banks let you enable push notifications for every new payment and the change of card settings. This is often the quickest way to detect suspicious activity. If you think something’s wrong, freeze your card immediately. You can always unfreeze it later, but the sooner you act, the less damage scammers can do. This prevents any more transactions from occurring, including with Apple or Google Pay. The sooner you let them know, the better your chances that they will refund you. Many banks auto-update subscriptions. If you can opt out, you won’t mistakenly link the same card to an unsafe vendor. If the fraudster has any of your personal information, make sure your other accounts, especially your email, are secure. This scam is designed to look legitimate and fraudsters are really good at this. You’re not being careless- you’re just being targeted. Act quickly and learn from the experience so you can avoid this in the future.