Verifying if an email about an Apple Pay charge is a scam

Those types of emails are generally scams yes.

Apple Pay requires biometric authentication and manual confirmation, and there is no way for any other than yourself to actually make a payment using your payment methods in the wallet App through Apple Pay.

click here ➜ Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

Do not call the number.

Apple Pay is not used with app purchases or other subscriptions or purchases through Apple's media stores on devices. It's only used in physical, stored, websites and some apps that support it.

Yes, it is a scam. All Apple Pay transactions are seen in your Wallet app for any card that uses Apple Pay. If there is no transaction listed in your Wallet, you can confirm that there has been no charge. If you don't have any cards added to your Wallet, then Apple Pay is not being used at all.

As with any phishing email/message, there are common indicators that are used to determine if it is a scam, whether it refers to Apple Pay or anything else:

• Attempts to scare you to take an action.
• Includes a phone number or link to respond where they will ask for your personal information to compromise your accounts. NEVER call a number or click a link from and email/message and provide any personal information.
• Many will have spelling errors or obvious irregularities. Note in this one it says 680 USD, which is not how US currency is represented.
• Addresses you as a "User", "Customer", or some other generic term instead of your name. They don't know who you are other than the email address they sent the message to.

Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

I would regard it as scam if you didn't make a purchase on Jan 12 and if you want to see what you purchased from Apple you can always see that by using the App Store.app by pressing on the app and touching puchased on a iPhone or iPad or on a Mac, though on a Mac it is a little more involved.

View your purchase history for the App Store and other Apple media services