FBI Freezes $51,000 in Apple Support Scam Funds
The FBI's Recovery Asset Team stopped most of a $52,000 wire transfer sent by a victim of a spoofed Apple Support text scam.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Financial Crime
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The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center's Recovery Asset Team froze more than $51,000 in a scam victim's funds using its Financial Fraud Kill Chain process. The victim had received a spoofed text claiming a $500 credit card charge in August 2025 and was persuaded that Apple Support knew they were under FBI investigation.
Why it matters
Consumers aged 60 and older lost $3 billion to fraud last year, and reported scam losses rose 25% from 2024 and 400% from 2020. Scammers demand payment methods like wire transfers and cryptocurrency because they move money quickly and are harder to trace and cancel.
The FBI IC3 Recovery Asset Team froze more than $51,000 with banking partners and Coinbase after the victim sent a $52,000 wire to a domestic U.S. bank holding a custodial account for Coinbase. The status of any criminal charges or identified suspects was not reported.
The players
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
The FBI's center for receiving and acting on internet crime complaints, which received more than 1 million complaints involving over $20.8 billion in losses last year.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The federal consumer protection agency that refers high-dollar-loss fraud reports to the FBI IC3 Recovery Asset Team when criteria are met and the consumer agrees.
Coinbase
A major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange whose custodial account at a domestic bank received the victim's wire transfer and worked with the FBI to freeze the funds.
Apple
The technology company whose support brand was impersonated by scammers, and which states it does not send text messages about suspicious Apple Pay activity.
The details
Scammers convinced the victim that Apple Support knew they were under FBI investigation and instructed them to send a wire transfer and smaller bitcoin ATM transfers to verify identity. Apple does not send text messages about suspicious activity with Apple Pay, and the FBI IC3 warns that criminals also impersonate IC3 employees to solicit money.
Timeline
August 2025: Victim received the spoofed Apple Support text message.
Last year: FTC referred 680 reports to the FBI IC3, and the IC3 received over 1 million complaints.
Oct. 19: FTC issued its annual report to Congress.
Legal Context
The FBI IC3 received more than 1 million complaints involving over $20.8 billion in losses last year, and this recovery shows how the Recovery Asset Team's kill chain works within that larger enforcement environment. The FTC's referral pipeline, which sent 451 reports directly to trigger the kill chain, is the mechanism connecting consumer complaints to fund freezes.
Consumers who receive unexpected texts claiming charges or investigations should contact the company directly through an official number rather than replying or calling the number provided. Anyone who has sent money to a suspected scammer should report it immediately, since early reporting is what allowed the recovery in this case.
The takeaway
Legitimate companies like Apple do not ask customers to verify identity through wire transfers or bitcoin ATM payments. Pausing before sending money and independently contacting the organization named in a message is the most effective defense against these schemes.
Further reading
For more on how these schemes work, browse Financial Crime coverage across the United States.
More information
You can report suspected fraud through the FTC fraud reporting portal.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Herald-Review.
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