About

The Apple Pay Prank refers to a viral prank trend in which pranksters download the Apple Pay sound and produce a fake payment screenshot to trick strangers into believing that they stole money from them through an Apple Pay "tap" payment on iPhones. Viral videos of the Apple Pay Prank spread on TikTok in the spring of 2025. Pranksters mostly pulled the prank on older people in public places like stores and restaurants, who usually didn't know how Apple Pay fully worked or thought they'd been scammed. The trend spread to other video platforms like YouTube and Instagram Reels by May 2025.

Origin

The Apple Pay Prank was created by TikToker @slimeboyptv. He posted the first TikTok^[1] on March 31st, 2025, showing himself pulling the stunt on an older woman in a store. In the clip, the woman had her phone out and @slimeboyptv walked up to her and tapped his phone on hers. He then played the Apple Pay notification sound and pretended he had taken money from her, using a fake payment screen. Over two months, the video received roughly 50,700 plays and 1,100 likes (shown below).

Precursor

A different Apple Pay Prank was popularized on TikTok^[5][6] in 2020 and 2023, in which pranksters would ask cashiers if they accepted Apple Pay and then proceed to take out a real apple or many apples. Some of the videos were similar to the Mouse Pay prank videos from 2024.

Spread

TikToker @slimeboyptv shared more Apple Pay Prank videos in the following weeks, many of which achieved viral engagement. For instance, on April 5th, 2025, he shared a TikTok^[2] which received over 219,400 likes in a month (shown below).

Others started adding to the trend by late April 2025. For instance, on April 28th, TikToker^[3] @mon3ypow3resp3ct posted a video in which a man chased him in a supermarket after pulling the prank, gaining over 523,600 likes in nine days (shown below).

The trend spread to YouTube as well, among other video platforms, in late April and early May 2025.

For instance, on May 6th, 2025, YouTuber^[4] J2hundred posted a roughly 14-minute-long video called "Apple Pay Prank Gone Wrong!" that received over 27,700 views and 1,500 likes in a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References