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New iPhone Pre-Orders Trigger Wave of Credit Card Fraud, Over 700 Victims Affected Involving HK$14.7 Million

1 month ago

New iPhone Pre-Orders Trigger Wave of Credit Card Fraud, Over 700 Victims Affected Involving HK$14.7 Million On September 13, Hong Kong police received over 700 reports of credit card fraud, in which victims' credit card details were stolen and used to purchase the new iPhone online. The total amount involved was approximately HK$14.7 million, with the largest single case amounting to about HK$114,000. After Apple opened pre-orders for its new iPhone on the evening of September 12, a large number of cardholders began discovering unauthorized transactions. Police have classified the cases as "obtaining property by deception." As of the evening of September 13, no arrests had been made, and multiple banks have launched investigations. On September 14, Apple Hong Kong stated that all orders are subject to review before processing, and that it would identify and cancel potentially fraudulent transactions as soon as possible. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority stated that if a merchant has not used or has suspended additional transaction authentication, the financial losses arising from the related unauthorized transactions should be borne by the merchant.

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Comments (7)

136030115391 month ago

It's too much of a coincidence that so many cases of card fraud all surfaced on the very day preorders opened. Normally, if you get an alert from your bank about a suspicious transaction, freeze your card and call the police right away—don't just wait for the bank to handle it.

chenhui1 month ago

Until more detailed findings from the bank and police are available, it's best to hold off on posting order numbers or transaction screenshots on social media, as that information could be misused. A more practical approach is to keep the text messages, emails, and bank statements, and if necessary, report the matter to both the police and your card issuer. If there are further updates, it's also worth watching whether the HKMA's determination of merchant liability is actually enforced.

微凉1 month ago

Holding merchants accountable sounds simple in theory, but when cross-border platforms and banks start passing the buck, ordinary people face an uphill battle just to gather evidence and file an appeal.

woaidaishu88881 month ago

The key issue isn't just the large amount of fraudulent charges, but that they're concentrated around the pre-order stage, which suggests payment verification may have been bypassed. If that's the case, the discussion should focus on whether the issuing bank or the merchant should be required to enforce additional authentication, rather than simply reminding users to be careful.

红叶题诗1 month ago

Now that the HKMA says merchants will have to bear the losses if they haven't implemented additional transaction authentication, will Apple Hong Kong and the various banks next announce a specific compensation or refund timeline? For victims, waiting for the investigation to conclude versus filing their own complaints first makes a big difference in terms of time and effort, so if the author has any follow-up information, it would be worth continuing to track this.

火星不远1 month ago

The pre-order rush is itself a window of risk, but it's unreasonable to put all the responsibility on users.

孔老愣1 month ago

What deserves the most attention is that a single largest transaction exceeded HK$110,000, which ordinary people may not notice right away. If you spot anything unusual on your statement, you should immediately contact your card issuer to freeze the card and report it to the police, while keeping your order and transaction records. Don't wait until your statement date to deal with it.