{
  "id": 7291041,
  "title": "Hong Kong’s iPhone scam: how to protect your credit card from online fraud",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/hong-kongs-iphone-scam-how-to-protect-your-credit-card-from-online-7291041",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-14T09:17:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post-hong-kong",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3367443/hong-kongs-iphone-scam-how-protect-your-credit-card-online-fraud"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Over 700 Hong Kong residents discovered their credit cards had been used to make unauthorized Apple iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders over the weekend. Banks assured affected individuals they wouldn't face charges if the transactions were proven fraudulent and cardholders acted diligently. However, the incident raised alarms about credit card security.\n\nInformation technology experts advised multi-factor authentication might have been disabled by Apple, making it easier for scammers to exploit the situation. Hong Kong's financial regulator, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), suggested this could have occurred due to merchants disabling 3D Secure (3DS) to simplify the checkout process.\n\nExperts believe the stolen credit card data had likely been compromised in previous transactions on insecure retail websites that didn't submit regular security reports. Anthony Lai Cheuk-tung, a cybersecurity expert, warned that encryption protection could be lost when data is stored in databases or shared with maintenance contractors.\n\nIf you notice unauthorized charges, experts recommend immediately suspending the compromised card through the bank, filing a police report, and documenting the unauthorized transaction with screenshots and evidence of impossibility. Using digital wallets like Alipay, PayMe, or PayPal can help protect against credit card fraud, as these platforms do not have direct access to card information.",
  "summary": "More than 700 Hongkongers were shocked to discover that their credit cards had been used to place unauthorised orders for Apple’s new iPhone 18 Pro series handsets over the weekend. Although banks reassured victims they would not be charged as long as the cards were used with due care and the transactions were proven to be unauthorised, the incident still caused widespread concern over credit…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Hong Kong’s iPhone scam: how to protect your credit card from online fraud",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/hong-kongs-iphone-scam-how-to-protect-your-credit-card-from-online",
        "published": "2026-09-14T09:17:23.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}