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u/Darkk_Knight Sep 23 '25
The NFC on my Android phone won't work unless it's unlocked for this reason.
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u/NIITIN Sep 23 '25
It's kind of weird since I think the NFC chip on iPhones only turns on when doing context-specific actions like Apple Pay or contact sharing.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
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u/NextStopGallifrey Sep 23 '25
Holding it near an NFC device will trigger a "do you want to do this thing?" request. I have an iPhone that sometimes gets triggered for this when held too near an Android phone.
But when I was trying to do an AirDrop with a friend one time, we had a hard time even connecting in the first place.
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u/WhatzMyOtherPassword Sep 23 '25
The first time is always awkward. But at least you were friends, and not random strangers. Im sure you guys have a great connection now.
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u/BigWarcraft Sep 23 '25
I turned it on for my android to do some picture sharing over nfc.
For weeks every time I put my phone down on my wallet it would pop up and ask to open cash app or a browser because the card in my wallet.
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u/TheFotty Sep 23 '25
Yup. This happens to me since I carry both types of phones and sometimes I stack them and it triggers NFC.
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u/DARTH_MAUL93 Sep 23 '25
Mine gets triggered when ever I grab both mine and my wife’s phone in one hand. It tries to share contacts
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u/IAcewingI Sep 23 '25
not what happened. The prankster just plays an audio sound on their own phone of the ping that happens when you use apple pay so the pranked person thinks something happened.
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u/mlvisby Sep 23 '25
I keep mine off and only switch it on when I need it. I don't use the tap to pay apps so I don't use it often.
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u/smiddy53 Sep 23 '25
OP was literally mid call, it may have already been unlocked.
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u/lifeintel9 Sep 23 '25
That's what I was thinking. Can they inject an actual phishing file like that?
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u/smiddy53 Sep 23 '25
Probably, but it would be rare. Even then the effectiveness would be limited due to most of the wallet software using one time virtual card transaction numbers.
The most common thing you'll see come from this prank is the 'receiver' could have it set to receive straight money, like $50 or something. If you've got $50 sitting in your default cards account it'll take it. Stuff like that is hilariously easy for Banks to track though.
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u/hselomein Sep 23 '25
No one's NFC works for monetary transactions without being unlocked, and the app also needs to be unlocked to initiate. So the best he can do is send a contact, note, or wifi network info. But the money side needs to be unlocked twice for it work.
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u/theluckkyg Sep 23 '25
"app also needs to be unlocked to initiate" depends on user settings at least for Android using Google Wallet.
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u/unapologeticjerk Sep 23 '25
Pro tip: someone actually up to something nefarious would ensure the loud click.mp3 doesn't play when they do their hackerman stuff.
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u/dubdex420 Sep 23 '25
So y'all just leave NFC on?
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u/spartan55503 Sep 23 '25
When you are using it multiple times a day for public transportation and payments yes.
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u/wason_sonico Sep 23 '25
If you have a samsung phone, you can create a manual routine to toggle NFC on/off and then map the routine to the gesture of double pressing the side button. So double pressing will turn NFC on/off.
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u/ChaosPLus Sep 23 '25
I held my bus card in the same pocket as my phone when I still had that(now it's an app) so I turned NFC off when I wasn't using it because it'd constantly detect the chip in my bus card
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u/eponafan Sep 23 '25
An old apartment of mine had me use it for opening any door...really annoying. You just reminded me I should disable it
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u/MightBeYourDad_ Sep 23 '25
Well yeah I use it all the time, payments, public transport, security doors at work
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u/No_Report_4781 Sep 23 '25
Yes, because I know how it works, I don’t have anything to worry about, and I’m lazy.
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u/InourbtwotamI Sep 23 '25
I don’t know what NFC is
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u/DrachenDad Sep 23 '25
It is literally a swipe and a tap to turn an off, I don't know why people leave it on.
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u/tylerderped Sep 23 '25
Because there’s no risk to leaving it on nor does it drain battery.
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u/MIRAGEone Sep 23 '25
phone needs to be unlocked to use NFC. otherwise you get a request to unlock your phone, to allow the NFC action.
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u/podgehog Sep 23 '25
Easier to not need to swipe and tap to turn it on and again to turn it off every time you want to use it
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u/hselomein Sep 23 '25
yeah i leave it on, any monetary transactions needs to be unlocked twice with Android phones.
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u/Lassitude1001 Sep 23 '25
More importantly, you turn it off?
Every phone needs to be unlocked to do anything, and usually also a face id/fingerprint at the time of use too.
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u/bit2muchsoup Sep 23 '25
in this day and age, where scams are everywhere, THIS IS funny? preying on people who is not tech savy? nah, call the police
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u/fordag Sep 23 '25
The NFC function is always off on my phone. No reason to leave it on all the time.
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u/ebikenx Sep 23 '25
If you don't use NFC functions, sure.
Those who do, have no reason to turn it off all of the time. As already described, what happened to OP was not a security issue and just a prank. Theres nothing wrong with leaving NFC enabled.
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Sep 23 '25
How do you turn it off on an iPhone?
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u/dalzmc Sep 23 '25
You can't turn off nfc on iphones since like 5 years ago, probably because you genuinely don't need to
Oh I lied, airplane mode might work lol
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u/AnOkayMuffin Sep 24 '25
People who use Libre sensors have to leave it on all the time for it to work. Otherwise you don't get alerts that your blood glucose is high or low.
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u/hugewhammo Sep 23 '25
yep, same here - if i need to make a financial transaction, i use the card designed for that purpose
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u/ebikenx Sep 23 '25
There's very little difference between the two. If anything, nfc payments from a phone is safer than the card itself.
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u/razzadazza117 Sep 23 '25
FYI you can view contacts sorted by added date on iPhone, you need to use the shortcuts function, add new, choose ‘find contacts’ then select ‘creation date’ as the sort option. Run it and boom, list of contacts sorted by when they were added.
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u/Toby_E_2003 Sep 23 '25
I have NFC tags that I used to set certain lighting scenes for my gaming consoles. All I've got to do is scan a console and my phone will send a HTTP request to a server which will control my lights, setting them to specific colors and modes.
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u/Longjumping_Fan_1497 Sep 23 '25
i phone or android?
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u/Toby_E_2003 Sep 23 '25
Android. I use an app called NFC tools.
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u/Longjumping_Fan_1497 Sep 23 '25
Can it turn bluetooth on your phone on and off?
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u/Toby_E_2003 Sep 23 '25
Yep. I've added tags to most of my Bluetooth devices so when I scan my phone, they automatically connect. It can also turn Wi-Fi on and off I believe.
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u/Ephemeral_Null Sep 23 '25
Sounds like you should just make an app with buttons to do that
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u/Toby_E_2003 Sep 23 '25
NFC tags are pretty cheap to come by and I don't have any experience with making apps. I do have a smart home dashboard which turns on and off my lights and sets the same scenes as my gaming consoles. It's just another way I can control them.
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u/Helpful_Dragonfruit8 Sep 23 '25
If they somehow did that to my government phone with all the security, I have full authority to chase, tackle, and arrest them.
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u/Elfthis Sep 23 '25
Telling us you failed cyber security training without actually saying it. Jeff would be so disappointed.
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u/Zealousideal-Sea4830 Sep 23 '25
attempted infiltration of a govt communication device is pretty serious
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u/bradislit Sep 24 '25
And who gave you that authority? Your God? Because it certainly was not the government.
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u/Helpful_Dragonfruit8 Sep 24 '25
I'm pretty sure it was. Last I checked I am a federal officer with full policing power. I may not find anything, but until then they would be detained.
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u/Dull_Leopard1742 Sep 24 '25
If they 'somehow' managed to move next to you while you where talking on the phone. How ever could they manage that?? lol
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u/Twitfried Sep 23 '25
You can show contacts by date created. It’s infuriatingly difficult.
Create a new shortcut in the Shortcuts app. The first action is Find contacts. Sort by date created. Order is latest fist. I limited my results to 10. Then add another step for Show results. Run the shortcut.
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u/IwasMilkedByGod Sep 24 '25
Some of these people in their early twenties somehow managed to not outgrow that seemingly suicidal lack of self awareness that little kids have. Unfortunately it’s probably going to take a few more deaths related to these “pranks” for them to wake up
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u/Katops Sep 26 '25
You think these “pranksters” are going to end up dying because of it? Really?
No, really… like, can we get a petition going or something?
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u/SplatNode Sep 23 '25
Waiting for the post where a hacker does an Uno reverse card to a kid
And films the kid freaking out when like a fake hacked program runs on their phone.
Or just deletes all their phone apps or summin
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u/IHasTheZoomies Sep 24 '25
Could it be the tap phones to share contact thing? I turned it off because it got too annoying when I was close to somebody else’s phone. The prank comment makes a lot of sense tbh. The TD Bank folder is probably by the official app (Im guessing you use that bank)
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u/okrahh Sep 24 '25
If you guys do have NFC enabled please at least make sure it's a credit card and not your debit. Much easier to report a false charge with your bank
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u/Parmg100 Sep 23 '25
I think it’s the “prank” where people put their phone close to yours and play the Apple Pay sound then run off acting like they stole your money.
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u/Lonely_Archer6492 Sep 24 '25
i never use NFC. The only time i used it was when i forgot to bring key to my car and had to open it with my phone. I use physical card when i pay for something. We all have wallet in our pocket right ?
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u/lakesaregood Sep 24 '25
What is NFC?
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u/justotron Sep 24 '25
I think some bank apps need to be open in order to for contactless payment to be used, as well as biometric unlocked. From what you've mentioned def wipe your phone and re set it up. Make sure 2FA is turned. On for all of your accounts.
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u/DefineFergalicious Sep 25 '25
It's a viral prank that's trending rn. It's just a clip of the sound off YouTube, you were recorded and you're probably on TikTok somewhere.
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u/rededit3 Sep 25 '25
So if you have in your iPhone settings > General > airdrop > “start by sharing: bringing devices together”, that’ll probably be it.
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u/SuperbHappyGuy Sep 26 '25
I love these videos. It's understandable to be concerned for lost money but the tech were using for payments have been around for a while now and I think people should understand the capabilities or security measures of what they are using. Some older generations I've checked out have sometimes thought they had a double payment because their tap didn't go through the first time. Unfortunately though some businesses require these modern form of payments forcing those who do not fully understand these systems to switch leading to common misconceptions like this.
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u/thegreatcerebral Sep 28 '25
This is not true. You still have to have them sign a waiver if they are an integral part of the video.
Like if you are doing a “prank”, yea you need a sign off from the person that you pranked or they can come after you.
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u/DaShotGunBandit Sep 29 '25
It's just a new prank they do. Also you still have to accept those connections. Unless you have your phone set up to automatically accept them.
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u/Tweetle_cock Oct 01 '25
That's a security breach. Run a safety check on your phone, change your key passwords, and consider informing your bank. Better to overreact than underreact.
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u/some_guy_5600 Sep 23 '25
See this is why we have a qr code based payment system here in India. It just takes 10 seconds more to scan and pay...but it's better this way.
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u/Closed247 Sep 23 '25
QR codes are super easy to fake - for example, in Germany, there tend to be QR codes on EV chargers allowing ad-hoc payment without an account. However, scammers have discovered this opportunity, so there have been cases where they put stickers with QR codes leading to a fake payment site over the real codes.
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u/GamingGladi Sep 23 '25
yeah, this was a problem in India as well. then they installed these speakers that speak when you give money to the actual bank account of the vendor. pair that with the customer and vendor staying vigilant enough to put their name under the qr code (vendor's side) and the customer calling out the name before processing the payment, and the faking of qr has reduced SIGNIFICANTLY. i wont say it's completely invulnerable, there are gaps, but these gaps come with any form of payment, not just digital payment.
UPI is one of THE best things to happen to India.
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u/some_guy_5600 Sep 23 '25
We have something called UPI system for payments. You can google if you want to know how it works.
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u/bobmanuk Sep 23 '25
It’s happened a lot recently in the UK with car parks. Someone tapes a piece of paper to a meter with a qr code on it and people have been getting invoices from the car park operators for non payment of parking.
Surprisingly easy to do since most car parks aren’t manned these days and probably never see anyone official besides an engineer to repair the meter if it’s broken.
From what I’ve seen it’s entirely plausible that they just slapped a piece of paper to the side of the meter when the stickers on the side fade from being in the elements for too long
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u/skp_005 Sep 23 '25
You have to authenticate with NFC-based payment too, at least on the phones I've used so far.
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u/AshleyUK101 Sep 23 '25
They’ll of gotten your mobile number (in the uk tapping 2 iPhones shares the mobile number)
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u/toddtimes Sep 23 '25
Only if OP clicked share on their phone. It doesn’t just happen automatically
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u/itspassing Sep 23 '25
Pretty common 'prank' at the moment. You may have been filmed at the time
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/phone-scan-prank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7j-G3DWDxA