Q: itunes credit card fraud

As per your credit card agreement, you need to file a dispute with your bank. It is their responsibility and they say so in the CC agreement.
See this -> FTC - Facts for Consumers - Fair Credit Billing
Then I would cancel the card and get a different bank.

You raise an interesting point about iPhones getting hacked. My iPhone was acting really buggy for 2-3 weeks. It asked for my iTunes password all the time. Even when I would just wake it up to use it, it would ask for the iTunes password. I thought that was really odd. It also seemed to be operating slower and the touch screen not as responsive. The battery seemed to be drainig a lot faster than usual. Finally, it stopped charging--I would plug it in and it would say it was charging but it wasn't. So I googled that problem and found how to fix it by doing some sort of reset that involves connecting it to iTunes. Anyway, that fixed all of the problems and the phone stopped asking for password constantly.

Fast forward a couple weeks to June 2, I check my checking account online and find 6 charges from iTunes ranging in amounts of $40-$50 each. I also have 2 pending iTunes charges of around $45 each. I immediately called my bank and then changed my iTunes password. I have filed disputes for the charges. I have one outstanding charge at iTunes which must have occurred in the 5 minutes between when my check card was frozen and my iTunes password was changed. Thankfully it is only $5.38. Apple has said that I have to pay that and then they will refund the money to me. That seems a lot harder than simply removing the charge, but whatever.

This was a case of my iTunes account getting hacked because I went to my email account and found all 8 receipts for the purchases. I also found that 5 computers had been authorized on my account. I deauthorized all computers for now.

It does seem that Apple has a serious security issue given the volume of strikingly similar complaints that I have found online. My password was very strong. One thing I have learned from this episode is not to use my check card for my iTunes account. Luckily, I did not have anything bounce but others have not been so fortunate.

Thankfully it is only $5.38. Apple has said that I have to pay that and then they will refund the money to me. That seems a lot harder than simply removing the charge, but whatever.

Yes, that is what they seem to have to do for whatever reason.
I recommend NOT leaving your CC info in iTUnes.
Add it, make a purchase then immediately set your payment options to None.

This is definitely an Apple problem. I got a call this morning from Barclays Bank, telling me that they had detected possible fraudulent activity. It was -- $550 worth of poker chips bought on the iTunes account for the online poker game by Zynga. They canceled the card, and are taking the charges off. I went online and chatted with an Apple representative, and we went into my account, changed the Apple ID, changed the password, and changed the credit card to Bank of America. This afternoon, I went online to the Bank of America account and saw a temporary authorization for iTunes. I immediately called the bank, canceled the card, and now am going to cancel my iTunes account. Since no fraudulent charges have been made on either card outside of iTunes, it is obviously an Apple issue -- either the iPhone or iTunes. Since this issue came about, I have not been on an unsecured wireless network. It's either somebody hacking into Apple's system, or the AT&T 3G system is insecure.

changed the Apple ID, changed the password, and changed the credit card to Bank of America

I recommend NOT leaving your CC info in iTunes.
Add it, make a purchase then immediately set your payment options to None.

550 worth of poker chips bought on the iTunes account for the online poker game by Zynga

iTunes cannot be used like a charge card for other web sites.

It seems to me that since so many iTunes users have NOT been compromised there must be some other possibility than the iStore accounts being cracked. What enters my mind is that these users who have been ripped off may have malware on their own computers -- things like keyloggers that are capturing their information and passing it on to fraudsters. I highly recommend to any user who's credit info has been compromised that they do a thorough scan for malware, including root kits (if you don't know what that means, Google it and look for ways to check and remove them). Firewalls and anti-virus software can do only so much to protect you. Opening infected emails or visiting compromised web sites when your system is not fully up-to-date and protected can load all kinds of nasty things on your computer.

I make 99.9% of my iTunes purchases on my iPhone. If I have to enter my credit card information using the tiny little touchscreen buttons everytime I want to buy an app or a song, that is going to cut down on my iTunes purchases substantially. Lots of other online retailers manage to keep my information secure so I'm not sure why Apple can't.

Then you are more than welcome to leave your CC info in iTunes knowing that it may not be as secure as you want.

The purchase was listed as "in app", apparently for use with Zynga's Poker Game app for the iPhone.

KumbiaKid- I have Malwarebytes (paid version, real time protection), as well as Spybot S&D, Spyware Doctor and AVG. All are real time and scans run nightly. I have been online with credit card and bank sites since this happened. I check them all daily as a routine. The ONLY suspicious activity is iTunes. If a keylogger was on the machine, my bank accounts would be drained, rather than somebody getting poker chips.

Chris, the CC info is gone from iTunes. I will not be making anymore iTunes purchases.

instead of keeping cc number on my itunes account, i buy those $25 itunes cards. that way account numbers dont have to be input with every purchase (too tedious...our family buys 1-2 songs frequently) -- but my potential loss is limited to the amount remaining on the gift card.

The same thing happened to me, itunes emptyed my account of £549 pounds.

Their customer service is poor.

Nid

< Edited by Host >

That's the same app mine was used for. The in-app 30 minute call purchases. I contacted the app vendor and he said they had a bunch of e-mails about fraud recently. He asked if I could get in-app transaction id's from Apple so he could block the account using the minutes because ultimately he'd still be paying for the international calls but Apple wouldn't provide them.

Every time it asked for a password, I entered it except towards the end. I didn't have a problem until I synced with iTunes (which I do less than once a month). That same night was when my account was compromised.

I have been reading the responses here and Chris CA I think you are missing the point. itunes is an online business, yes business. The want customers to use there product to but music, apps, book, etc. Now in order to do so you must have an account and yes use some kind of CC or DC. Yes you go online use it once and then delete the CC but this would defeat the whole purpose of being able to download music, apps, books on the go with ease. I have other accounts online where I generally buy things, one is musician’s friend. I have an account and they do have my CC info. I buy stuff from them often and I have never had a problem with my account being hacked into or my CC info being somehow leaked out. Further, more when I do have a question I simply call and speak to a live person about my account and the problem is solved. For whatever reason peoples accounts are getting leaked and to top it off you can’t even speak to a real person about it. It is apples responsibility to find out the answers and make there site more protected from these actions, if they can not then ok I will never buy from there site again.