Fraudulent “iTunes” Alert — Check Your Charges!
There’s no technology that’s 100% safe from fraud or social engineering. Those are predators that walk the cyber landscape, and just like hunter gatherers had to watch out for saber-toothed tigers and dire wolves, modern consumers have to keep an eye out for scammers and spammers.
So, it comes as little surprise that Fox New York (via Consumerist) reports iTunes is among the many attack vectors Bad Guys use when committing their fraud.
The crux of this one is bogus charges on your credit card, from $1 to full on $50+ gift card purchases:
Over on GetSatisfaction, there’s a long thread about fraudulent iTunes charges, but no clear answer about what’s going on. In fact, some people seem to be getting hit with charges on their credit cards from a fake APL*ITUNES business even if they don’t have iTunes accounts, while others who do have iTunes accounts receive receipts via email for real gift card purchases that they didn’t make.
So stay informed, check your accounts and your credit card charges, and report anything fishy (or phishy).
May 20th, 2009 at 10:24 am
This is so true alot of times people dont even check it and numerous times ive had this happen to me with things i didnt even buy but i will say everytime i call apple they refund the charges within the day but it still makes me wonder why iam even charged for somthing that is so off the wall and how am i being charged is my number stored and they just use it when ever it makes me really nervous because what if was a big charge ide be extremely upset but this story is very very true
May 20th, 2009 at 10:39 am
@mattyfresh change your itunes password NOW and turn one click purchases off
May 20th, 2009 at 10:42 am
If I made lots of purchases I confess I probably wouldn’t check them thoroughly. Fortunately, since I rarely buy anything I know this hasn’t happened to me yet.. and will know if it does.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:48 am
With all this online fraud and weirdness, I have been really been thinking of using a prepaid gift card for online purchases and moving money over when I plan to spend it.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:53 am
@D not only did i change password i also change credit cards and it still happened and the charges are from apple and they admit they dont know how i was charged but they do refund the money and i dont buy a ton of stuff like a few apps a week so its apple billing my card for no reason but think about it in terms of millions if they do thats millions sitting in an acct for a day they get intrest on so i believe apple knows its happening they just act like o it was an accident thats what they have told me a few times but this has happened to me only about 5 times its not like it happens all the time so iam like on the fence on this one
May 20th, 2009 at 11:00 am
God, I probably have a charge on my card from iTunes a couple times a week. If they’re a dollar or two I never look at them too carefully. I guess I should start checking that they match up with all the items I’ve purchased.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I don’t use my credit card with Apple foe purchases. I usually just buy the gift cards, and then redeem them online, it seems a little safer. And yes, turn off one click, no only does it make it more difficult for fraud, it can help you from making a mistake.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
I’ve had iTunes since 2003 and never even heard of “one click” (shows how often I buy anything)
Is that just an iPhone feature, or computer, or both?
May 20th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
The easy fix for this is to get a prepaid credit card, not gift cards credit card. Hackers have tried to use the prepaid credit card I use for all online shopping, but they have yet to get one penny of mine, because it only has money on it when I put it there to buy something. It’s bullet proof, unless the sneak thief happens to live with you and knows exactly when you put money on it. Makes paypal 100% safe also.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Matty – If you changed your billing card and your password and you still had charges, then call your bank and get a new card – and by new card, I mean a card with a totally NEW number. Your card probably was compromised.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:57 am
I think most people are missing the story. It’s people who steal cc number are using iTunes to verify a cc or trade credit for money through gift cards.
I don’t get behind report of even why this aired since if apple is mailing you a recipe for something you did not buy. Your account is comprimized. And if you only see it on your credit card statemet then your cc is compromised.
The bottom line it’s an online transaction which leaves ip addresses and I think apple has been doing this long enough to log transactions to an ip.
The getsatifaction thread is people who need to learn about the Internet and security.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I was charged and I don’t even have an I-tunes account. Don’t have anything Apple at all. Still waiting to see if they are going to refund it.
August 11th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I’m with you Heather. I don’t have an Apple anything and was charged. When I called Apple about this itunes charge they told me to go to my bankd and report it as fraud and there was nothing else they could do. The charge by the way came out of my bank account not even on a credit card statement. So beware, it is everywhere!
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 am
People need to realize that this has nothing to do with someone going into your iTunes account or with Apple. Stop going through Apple seeking refunds! Always go through your bank and get a new credit card and sign the fraud papers they send you. Crooks are at fault here.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:53 am
Yes, Jon and Bugs are right. This is the real story behind iTunes false charges. It has nothing to do with Apple so stop calling them and wait for refunds… if only your iTunes account is compromised, fix is easy enough. But that’s not the case, your CC# was stolen and compromised. Don’t wait around for refunds while crooks get working on real crooked work when the $1 charge or $50 purchase goes through. http://consumerist.com/5260294/watch-out-for-fraudulent-itunes-purchases-whether-you-have-an-itunes-account-or-not
November 18th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I have had this happen twice now. The first time, I got a new card, and here we are again, about 2 months later, getting yet another new debit card. I don’t have any apple products whatsoever, and they say they cannot link the charge to an account because it was only the preauthorization of $1. Unless you have the money to be put on hold and wait until you get a dispute reconciled with your bank, just get a new credit card. Delete your cookies, clear form history, everything. These hackers can look through all that **** apparently, and they all need to be locked up somewhere and beaten. I hate hackers!