Social-media users reported repeated card transaction alerts after Apple opened iPhone Duo pre-orders on October 16. Some said they had successfully ordered the phone, while others said their orders had failed or that they had not ordered it.
One user reported receiving five transaction notifications for HK$34,998 each, totalling HK$174,990. The reports described alerts or transaction notifications, not confirmed completed payments.
An HK01 reporter used an HSBC Red card to order a 256GB model for HK$17,499 through the Apple Store app shortly after 8pm. About an hour later, the reporter received a notification for a successful transaction; another for the same amount arrived around 10pm.
HSBC customer service told the reporter that both transactions came from Apple.com/HK and were not fraudulent, explaining that an operational problem had caused some transactions that evening to be processed twice. The bank expected the duplicate authorisations to be cancelled automatically within one to two days.
A separate episode occurred after the previous iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max launch. HK01 reported that police had received 1,503 reports involving more than HK$30 million by September 29, with all related transactions cancelled and no losses to cardholders, banks or Apple.
HSBC said the reporter could still submit a transaction dispute within 60 calendar days of the statement date. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to reach the hotline, the reporter received a response through online banking.