How to investigate unauthorized Apple Card Tap Payments?

It’s possible that your credit card credentials were compromised via any number “tried and true” methods and fraudulently added to an iPhone.

To pull this off, they would have HAD to successfully negotiate your bank’s card verification scheme; so some your other credentials might have been compromised as well.

Your bank would have HAD to approve any fraudulent card installation, so THEY are the best source of substantive info.

(although don’t expect any “Tier 1” CSR to be of much assistance; you’ll have to be elevated to your bank’s to “AppleCard” or “Fraud” team)

Payment Network Operators (MasterCard, Visa etc.) classify all transactions as either card present or card not present. A different card number is used for swipes, chip read and Apple Pay (Tap-To-Pay). They are all considered a card present transaction. Card not present is for online orders, phone orders, manually entered numbers at a POS terminal.

The bank can tell by the card number used and how it was entered, whether card present or card not present is applicable.