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A TikTok creator’s claim that he had taken £1,000 from a stranger using Apple Pay was not verified as a real transaction. PerthNow reported on June 6, 2025, that the London stunt involved a payment sound and a spoken claim of theft; it ended with bystanders restraining the creator and police handcuffing and searching him. The footage and reporting establish a police intervention, not a confirmed Apple Pay theft, arrest, charge or conviction.
What happened in the London Apple Pay prank?
PerthNow reported that a creator identified as @fboogielivee approached a stranger in London, brought his phone close to the man’s device and claimed he had taken £1,000 for a “new hairline.” The amount was part of the creator’s claim, not a verified payment.
The man grabbed the creator’s arm and another bystander helped restrain him. The creator repeatedly said, “It’s a prank.” A plain-clothes officer then identified himself; officers handcuffed the creator and said he was being detained and searched for items connected with fraud, according to the footage described by PerthNow’s June 6, 2025 report.
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No actual transfer is established in the available reporting. It describes a simulated payment sound or transaction impression and a verbal claim, but supplies no bank record, Apple Wallet transaction, receipt, confirmation from the target’s bank, or police account confirming that money moved.
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A sound is not proof of payment. To check a suspected charge, open Wallet or the relevant banking app and inspect the transaction history. The report does not establish exactly how the sound was produced—whether it was a recording, sound effect, soundboard or another method.
Can someone take money by tapping a phone against yours?
The clip does not demonstrate an Apple Pay exploit. For a standard Apple Pay payment on iPhone, Apple’s UK instructions describe selecting a card and double-clicking the side button, then authenticating with Face ID or a passcode. GOV.UK Pay likewise describes a user-initiated flow in which the payer reviews and confirms the payment, including through biometric authentication. See Apple’s Apple Pay instructions and GOV.UK Pay’s payment guidance.
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There is an important exception to blanket claims about authentication: Apple’s Express Mode can let supported transit cards, keys and passes work without waking or unlocking the device or using the usual authentication flow. That does not make the prank’s sound evidence of a payment. A real transaction needs a compatible payment setup and its applicable authorization path; two phones touching, by itself, is not the same as completing an ordinary Apple Pay purchase.
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According to the report, officers said people had reported that the creator took money from their accounts and that they would search him for articles relating to fraud. That explains the stated basis for intervention; it is not a finding that a payment happened or that an offence was proved.
In England and Wales, stop-and-search and arrest are distinct. GOV.UK guidance on stop and search says police may search someone when they have reasonable grounds to suspect they are carrying certain items, including stolen property or items that could be used to commit a crime. A search is not automatically an arrest.
For an arrest, officers need reasonable grounds to suspect involvement in a crime and must consider arrest necessary. GOV.UK says an officer must identify themselves, tell the person they are under arrest, explain the suspected offence and explain why arrest is necessary. The arrest guidance also makes clear that handcuffs alone do not establish the legal status of the person being restrained. Because the officers were described as plain-clothes, GOV.UK says a non-uniformed officer stopping someone should show a warrant card as proof of identity; see the stop-and-question guidance.
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Was the TikTok creator charged or convicted?
The available coverage does not verify a charge, prosecution, conviction or later police outcome. It documents handcuffing and a search, but does not establish what happened after that. It would therefore be inaccurate to say that he was arrested for fraud or convicted on the basis of the reported footage alone.
What to do if someone tries this prank on you
- Make space and protect your phone. Move away if you can; do not unlock the device or hand it to the person.
- Check for a real transaction yourself. Open Wallet and your bank’s app directly and review the transaction history rather than relying on a sound, pop-up or the prankster’s claim.
- Get help if the person escalates. If they follow, threaten or touch you, contact venue security or police.
- Keep useful evidence. Preserve any video, witness details and the time and place of the incident.
- Report actual unauthorized activity. Contact your bank if an unauthorized transaction appears; report a clip to its platform if it targets identifiable members of the public.
Why the prank can turn into a real confrontation
The format relies on social engineering: bring a phone close, use or imitate a familiar payment sound, then immediately claim money has been taken. A target who believes their account has been raided may react with fear or anger, and bystanders may intervene before anyone has checked an account. The camera does not make the claim harmless or establish consent to being filmed.
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PerthNow also described similar videos as part of a wider trend. That context does not show that every such video led to police involvement, and it does not resolve the London incident’s legal outcome.
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