My friend's phone or account appears to have been compromised, and someone spent more than $700 through it. We contacted Apple several times, but they said there was nothing they could do. Is there another way to dispute the charges or recover the money?
3 Answers
The phone itself may not have been hacked. This is often caused by a reused password, a phishing message, or accidentally approving a sign-in request. Your friend should immediately change the Apple Account password and every other reused password, review trusted devices and payment methods, contact the bank or card issuer about the charges, and enable two-factor authentication everywhere possible. A bank dispute might work, but Apple could potentially restrict the account if the charges are reversed, so it should be treated as a last resort after checking Apple’s refund process.
Even without malware, someone can gain access through a phishing link or stolen credentials. Don’t assume the problem is limited to the phone—check email, banking, shopping, and any accounts that use the same login. Remove unfamiliar devices, cancel suspicious subscriptions, replace payment cards if needed, and preserve receipts and account alerts when contacting the bank and Apple. Recovery isn’t guaranteed, but reporting the transactions quickly gives the best chance.
Using the same email and password doesn’t guarantee an account will be compromised, but it makes it much easier if one service has a breach. Two-factor authentication and passkeys help prevent this. Also check whether the charges were recurring subscriptions or in-app purchases, since those may have different refund rules than genuinely unauthorized transactions.
That makes sense. We’ll check whether the charges were subscriptions or purchases, secure the account first, and then contact the bank about disputing anything unauthorized.