martha102 wrote:
What is the risk of signing on at a place with free wifi when I have my credit cards stored in apple wallet for use with Apple Pay?
None. No risk at all.
Does it matter whether I am using the Apple Pay or not?
Apple Pay does not use Wi-Fi, so no.
Is my data vulnerable just by virtue of having the app on my phone and the app having my credit card information, when ever I am in a public place where I log on to their store wifi?
The Wallet App does not store any card information beyond the last 4 digits so you can identify the card. It stores an encrypted package with your device account number and other bank related data than only your bank can decrypt and access when they process the payment. There are no credit card numbers, and no personal data related to your cards. Only they can link the device account number to your actual credit card or debit card account to accept or deny that charge.
For example, when I go to IKEA and want to look up my shopping list, can a hacker break into my apple wallet when I log on to their store wifi because my phone wifi service does not work well enough in the store?
No. There is no easy way of remotely hacking an iPhone from a public Wi-Fi. Remote hacks of that nature taker very specialized equipment and cost millions of dollars to perform. Unless you are a high value target, like a journalist, activist, politician, diplomat etc... you are of no interest to hackers that could conceivably break into your iPhone. And in those cases, they aren't after credit card information anyway.
You can use the free Wi-Fi at IKEA without worrying about Apple Pay.
click here ➜ Apple Pay security and privacy overview - Apple Support
