itunes credit card fraud

Same thing has happened to me on several occasions where money has been taken from my credit card account by way of itunes purchases etc. After reading all the posts on this forum I am amazed that this issue has been going on for quite some time . I have also noticed that (after checking other posts on the internet about this issue) there is a reoccuring samelike pattern of events embodying the alledged frauds as put forward by Apple. There is something not quite right abut the manner in which Apple tries to explain away these unauthrised fraudulent credit card transactions. Come on Apple...????????

I would bet my life savings that the unauthorized purchases that a significant percentage of the people in this thread are reporting were, in fact, made by their children. Many of those people still don't know that the purchases were in-app purchases of coins, tokens, etc. in games that can be downloaded and played for free.

It is a fact that even if you have a credit card on file, even if someone has your password, they can only view the last four digits and card type when viewing the Payment information.

When an account is used On a new computer or device to attempt a purchase from the App or iTunes Store with an existing credit card on file, it is required to verify the credit card CVV on the new device in order to verify the new device is authorized to purchase with the current credit card on file. If you change the credit card on file on one device, all other devices and computers will have to go into payment info and confirm the CVV of the new CC before a purchase ca. Be made on each respective device.

Unfortunately, people fall victim to information theft from malware, phishing, corrupt waiters and gas station clerks, modified card scanners, unencrypted online storefronts, etc. every second. The information is often then sold and, unfortunately, often used for digital purchases. Who gets the money for purchases from iTunes? The content providers and developers get the majority, I believe, and Apple takes a cut. Who loses in the end, however? While it should really be the individuals that did not protect their financial information adequAtely or didn't read the terms and neglected to set adequate parental controls, that isn't often the case. With most companies the bank would need to return the funds, but Apple actually has support personnel that specifically handle reports of unauthorized activity on iTunes. And while you mock Apple's explanations of why these cases happen, you should understand that most people are not comfortable with being told that this happens because there are criminals in the world that take advantage of vulnerabilities that exist due to people's ignorance or negligence.

After doing some of my own research on credit card fraud, I have to say that I am much less peeved at Apple for what is occuring here. In the U.S., our card technology is quite dated, and most of the banks that provide our cards are not implementing new technology that would make them much more secure, simply because the cost of reimbursing customers for the fraudulent charges is cheaper. (source:http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/12/22/weak-us-card-security-ma de-target-a-juicy-target/4165427/)

Fraud like this can happen to anybody, no matter how cautious you are with your card. My information was stolen again in November of 2013, because I purchased flowers for my girlfriend at a local Yoke's grocery store earlier that month. (http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/nov/25/yokes-fresh-markets-have-stopped-ta king-credit-deb/) In this instance, the criminal had to have been able to duplicate my card and use it to make a purchase at a 7-11 in Fort Worth, Texas. I live in Washington State.

Although I'm not sure exactly how my information was obtained back in May, the lack of security our cards have make it relatively easy for criminals to steal that information and use it. My best suggestion is, if you're using an account that doesn't have fraud protection, find a bank that does and make the switch. While I can't say that this would protect against the iTunes form of fraud, there are banks that have implemented the digital chip on their cards that make them more secure.

Lastly, I should mention that I don't think this has anything to do with your account information being saved on iTunes. There are more than a few people that have been swindled that didn't have an iTunes account at all. I think who or whomever is doing this has some other method for stealing the account numbers, and iTunes is just a way for them to confirm the accounts are valid. I have many theories, but they are just that.

evannnunez wrote:

This is why I will never will own apple agian. I moved to andriod 5 years ago have never been charged.

No one who uses the Google Play store has ever had a problem with their credit card. Yeah, right.

I Know what you mean. I love my iPhone and iPad and this is my 5th iPhone and am thinking about buying an iPad air. They're great machines. But this credit card thing with iTunes is nothing short of fraud. It's not like we don't pay enough for the equipment. I have had to take my cc out because I was constantly being billed for things I did not purchase. And I am the ONLY ONE on my iPad & iPhone. No kids, etc. Now there are times when I didn't order anything and a question pops up "are you purchasing this etc, etc. ". If I had my cc in, I would have just been charged. Not asked. Forget trying to get in touch with them. It's not possible. Do they even exist? The absolute worse people friendly company I have EVER seen. I, too will probably switch to android as will my adult children as they, too are sick of Apple. Too bad.

BBoycott apple products until they are more cooperative regarding all these problems. Are they really this greedy? They were just forced by law (lost the lawsuit) to repay millions of dollars to parents whose children charged on their cc when they were not authorized. This will eventually happen with ALL charges disputed. In the meantime Apple is losing business and will eventually fade from competitive sales as more options become available.

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Mfppowers wrote:

Meg, is that all you were able to read from my post? It was much more.

Your post implied that somehow, we agreed. I wish to make clear to anyone else reading this that, in fact, we do not. I read the rest of it and dismissed it as a rant.

Best of luck.

I've removed my credit card information from my accounts after I've found out that someone has been using my account to purchase things. The first transaction did was about RM 4,000. Today, I found out another transaction has been done few days ago and its RM 3,800. I'm going to the bank tomorrow to clear this out.

Why is this happening although I've removed my credit card information and also renewed the password.

Ok so here's my story. I dicovered the whole in game app purchase after my son...blah blah you know the story. Apple did gve me a partial credit, so kudos for that. Fast forward about 2 years and Nov 2013 we start seeing all these itunes charges. So of course i blame my kid. And then there's more. He swears it's not him. So I change my Apple ID and password. Still more charges. So I change the cc info. Still more charges. None of them are big. But about every few days a charge for 1.29, or 5.25 would pop up. I finally went to the bank. Bank says oh well someone got your card and then charges from elsewhere will be coming too so we need to close it. So we did that and issued me a new card. STILL more charges. So we close the entire bank account whch was-is- a huge pain because everything went thru there. Mind you, there were never any other fraud charges, only Apple. Here's the kicker, new bank account opened, haven't used any card and what do you know? MORE charges. So we are lost. My husband wants to close all the accounts we have at that bank and change banks. That might work, but there is a MUCH bigger underlying issue here. This isn't someone who stole my card number. This is someone hacking-somehow- into Apple and into banks. Apple does NOT have my latest bank account info AT ALL. And just today there was a charge on the account for 9.99. For those of you who are unbeievables, reread that last sentence.

I hope this doesn't just sound like a rant. I am hoping that those of you out there in similar cases can at least feel justified.

threevolve wrote:

I had an Android phone for years, never any fraudulent charges. Literally three weeks after switching to an iPhone, my CC# gets stolen and used on another iTunes account.

I'd bet money that, in the same time period, someone who just switched from an iPhone to an Android had their CC hacked. Correlation does not prove causality.

As has been noted repeatedly in this thread, you need to immediately address the matter with your credit card company as they are the ones who authorized the chargers.

Good luck.

Had someone try and put 400 on my itunes today. Have never used the account at all and i guess stupid me put the credit card information in when i 1st activated it.

Anyways 30mins on the phone and i did get a refund, still i question apple's security.

nice thread started in 2011, 19 pages long looks like alot of people are getting scammed, apple needs to step it up in the fraud department.

Just had the same thing happen to me. 8 transactions against Apple iTunes Store Sydney. Just shy of $600 take. Talked to bank and they agreed it was fraudulent and so lodged a claim with Apple. But that was going to take 4-6 weeks IF Apple agreed to the refund. So I started a chat with Apple and was called back by their fraud team. Asked a few simple question about who else might have access to the credit card - the details didn't tally with what they were seeing - and so they've agreed to refund the entire amount. No yelling or ranting. I expect they are used to the iTunes accounts being hacked (adding user authorised for the credit card) and they don't even debate it now. So, an annoying experience but I'm getting my money back. Plus a new card. Oh, deleted all CC details from the iTunes account as well.

Yaya1020 wrote:

Hi Chris CA. I tried that but South Africa is not listed

???

just FYI for anyone at this thread for suspect charges... there's another very extensive thread for this issue...https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2665383