How do I address a suspicious text message about a watch purchase on my card?

Hello~ This is a well known scam. Just scammers doing what scammers do. Report it, delete it or both and move along with your day. Don’t interact with any scam messages at all…period. I treat any unfamiliar message as a scam until I can prove otherwise…sad but true.

See below…

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

~Katana-San~

That’s a phishing attempt from scammers and it’s literally been reported 100’s of times if not 1000’s. 

Apple would never contact you. Your bank (issuer of card) would contract you. Banks do the exact opposite of the message you received. If they suspect fraud the transaction is stopped immediately. You have to call to verify the transaction, not call to stop the transaction. 

“Don't answer suspicious phone calls or messages claiming to be from Apple. Instead, contact Apple directly through our official support channels.”

”To report a suspicious SMS text message that looks like it's supposed to be from Apple, take a screenshot of the message and email the screenshot to reportphishing@apple.com.”

You can report phishing at these links and most importantly your local law enforcement.

Identify legitimate emails from the App Store or iTunes Store.

FTC Complaint Assistant

FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center

Learn about how not to be a victim of Social Engineering.

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

Thank you for reaching out. 🤗

• The text message you received was a scam.
• Simply block, report and delete the message.
• Never click any links or call phony phone numbers they provide!
• The phony text message will never mentioned you by name because they don’t know it.

🛑 Apple will never send you a text message‼️⚠️

Important: If you receive a suspicious email or SMS text message that looks like it’s supposed to be from Apple, please email it to reportphishing@apple.com.

Learn how to:

• Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls and other scams.
• Identify legitimate emails from the App Store or iTunes Store.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Smiliñ 😎 Brian