How do I remove an unauthorized merchant from my Apple Pay/Wallet?
Would changing the default card decline payment to these unauthorized merchants? Or would the new default card still get affected?
They are scammers all right.
Here is how this happens. A few weeks ago, a few months ago you use the card by either swiping the card or inserting the card into the chip reader. The transaction terminal you used is compromised and the data was taken off the magnetic stripe or the chip. This is referred to as skimming and shimming.
The person that obtained all your card information (name, card number expiration date, CVV security code and more) sells it repeatedly on what’s known as the dark web. Someone that purchases the information enters the information into an Apple device and then uses that device to make a purchase. The purchase is a subscription.
The subscription doesn’t show in your Apple ID Account, because it’s under their Apple ID. You receive the Apple Pay notification from the bank, because you’re the owner of the account. This is why you don’t see the subscription. You didn’t subscribe, the fraudster did, and used their Apple ID when they subscribed.
Who is the PNO (Payment Network Operator) for the card? PNO’s are companies like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, etc. Visa and Mastercard have a service that merchants can subscribe to that updates their payment information for subscriptions. So, if you recognize the fraudulent charges, report them to the bank and the bank issues you new account credentials, the fraudsters get updated card information and the charges continue.
Changing a default Apple Pay card does nothing. Your bank needs to stop changing your account because the PNO will then update the fraudsters and the charges continue.
Here is an example of what is happening.
https://developer.mastercard.com/product/automatic-billing-updater-abu/