itunes credit card fraud

The same thing happened to me on 30th Nov. I think there is a security risk with the iTunes servers. The thieves are taking advantage of the fact that the credit card details are stored on the iTunes server. They purchased over £50 worth of downloads before Barclaycard declined the transaction recognising it as irregular. People don't steal credit card details to download music, it seems a bit pointless when you can steal music directly from some less scrupulous sites. I will definately not be storing any details with itunes in the future. Barclaycard are investigating the fraudulent transactions as iTunes will not remove the charges.

Apple should be able to provide the itunes account info for the fraudster and close their account - itunes should not let them sync their data and they should refund the money (the stolen "property" would still reside on the thief's device, but it's just data anyway - so give us honest folks our cash back!) . We aren't looking to identify and prosecute our little thief (stole our debit card and made a couple hundred in itunes charges), we just want a little more info so we know how they got our details.

Anyone from Apple monitoring this thread? Comments?

Anyone from Apple monitoring this thread? Comments?

No, Apple does not regularly monitor these posts, and won't comment on such issues here if they do happen to see this thread.

Apple should be able to provide the itunes account info for the fraudster

As to providing account information for any person suspected of fraud, Apple could only do that to an authorized law enforcement agency or possibly the issuer of the credit/debit card. And it might take a court order for Apple to legally be able to release private information even to those people. Apple cannot provide any sort of personal information about any iTunes account holder to you or any other private party.

Sorry for your problem, but you'll have to work through your card issuer and the police.

Happened to me today. $200+ dollars worth of downloads. I tried for two hours to get a hold of someone who would represent Itunes. All Apple employees told me that there was nothing they could do for me. The most infuriating thing I have dealt with in a long time. My bank told me that as the merchant(Apple/Itunes) they should be able to cancel the transactions immediately. Of course that did not happen, because "downloads over a computer cannot be refunded". Hopefully if enough people get screwed, and post here, Apple will work on their A. customer service B.security for its customers information. I am almost certain that Apple itself is the problem. Their security has been breached or leaked somehow. The same day this happened a friend of mine got a phone call from his bank asking him if he had purchased $5000.00 worth of Apple products today! He did not. This friend does indeed have his credit card account info with Apple, from his previous purchase (that he actually made). So it looks to me like someone within Apple is to blame for credit card leaked info.

My bank told me that as the merchant(Apple/Itunes) they should be able to cancel the transactions immediately.

But once the transactions are complete (after being authorized by the bank), it is complete.
If the songs are all downloaded, what is canceling going to do?
Apple is out the songs and out the money (which the bank authorized).

You should make one phone call to teh bank and report fraudulent activity on your card. It's not up to you to contact Apple.
This is the standard procedure for all credit cards and credit bureaus.

-> http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre07.shtm
-> http://www.ehow.com/how2071562report-credit-card-fraud.html
-> http://www.experian.com/credit-education/fraud-faqs.html#faq11

You pay interest on your card for them to take care of these things. And retailers pay 1%-3% of each purcahse for the bank CC company to approve and guarantee all transactions.

Here's a suggestion for an alternative payment method. Create a PayPal account and pay for your iTunes using PayPal. That way you card info is only used by PayPal. It's convenient to use for many transactions on the net.

Create a PayPal account and pay for your iTunes using PayPal.

That way, when someone gets into your iTunes account, you will have no recourse since PayPal makes sure you cannot get any help/refund/fraud protection. You are just SOL.
-> http://www.paypalwarning.com/
-> http://www.paypalsucks.com/

I enter my CC when I wnat to make a purchase then remove it immediately after the purchase.

Having to delete and re-enter your information is just plain wrong. The old option of having your account set up without credit card info and automatic payment was the right way to do things. Apple needs to get their head out of the sand and do the right thing by their customers.

This is just plain wrong. We, the consumer, have the right to choose whether we want our credit card info stored online. Apple forcing us to have to enter our CC info and keep it as part of our profile is an infringement of our privacy, not to mention a security risk. So, maybe I will be missing out on 'free' downloads because I don't have my CC info on my account. Who cares? There are tons of other sites out there that have HUNDREDS of free MP3's available for download without having credit card info online. Amazon.com is one, insound is another. These are all legal sites, not peer-to-peer like Napster was.

The next time you try to download a 'free' song, you will have to enter the CC info again. This is a huge issue, affecting many people who use iTunes. Just because a handful of people have only posted here to report it, I am aware of 2 other people in my circle of friends who have been impacted in this way. Their debit card was compromised and hundreds of dollars of iTunes songs were downloaded.

The old option of having your account set up without credit card info and automatic payment was the right way to do things.

What? How does an automatic payment get made without any CC info?

So, maybe I will be missing out on 'free' downloads because I don't have my CC info on my account.

How are you missing out on any free downloads? Just download them.

This is just plain wrong. We, the consumer, have the right to choose whether we want our credit card info stored online. Apple forcing us to have to enter our CC info and keep it as part of our profile

No they don't. Just delete it and select None as a payment option.

The next time you try to download a 'free' song, you will have to enter the CC info again

No I won't (and no I don't). I donwload free stuff all the time and I have not had any CC info in my iTunes account for years.

I'm out nearly $500 because someone hacked my itunes account. Apple is not at all helpful,and in fact quite rude. This is due to their lack of security, but they won't take responsiblity. I'm beyond frustrated with them. I'm smashing my Ipod and going to another brand.

Like a lot of people on here, I'm a loyal Apple customer (phone, computer, iPod) and I couldn't be more disappointed in them. Got a call from Chase Saturday morning, advising me unauthorized purchases had been made on my account via iTunes and Amazon. Unlike others on here, I was fortunate that the amounts spent appear to be low. Problem is, I had about $$$ left on an iTunes gift card. Once they went through that, the excess went on my credit card. Chase has been on top of it so far (and trust me, I'm not a fan of the "big four" banks, so I'm definitely not promoting Chase here, but they have at least been responsive), while iTunes emailed me - since no one is available by phone - that I should change my password, delete my credit card info and contact my bank. No sh*t. I realize the dollar amount in my case is low, but where is the customer service? Someone illegally accessed my account on iTunes and spent my money. iTunes makes plenty of cash off all of us and I'm shocked they won't do more to assist. If not refund my money, maybe split the difference? Or, allow me to actually speak to a live person about it to find out what happened? Like someone said in an earlier post, hopefully everyone who's shared a similar experience will post and push Apple to get their iTunes customer service level to the same as... Chase?!? Yikes...

+unauthorized purchases had been made on my account via iTunes and Amazon.+
So amazon got hacked, too? You can also remove your CC details on Amazon, and just enter them when you're going to make a purchase. They actually didn't have that a year ago on Amazon. I was glad to see they'd enabled that aseveral motnhs ago.


Someone made unauthorized charges to one of my husband's cards. He called the bank - there was no point in calling 1-800-flowers, the gas station, or the 4 other merchants that had these unauthorized charges.
I don't understand this hue and cry against Apple, and thinking they can do something beyond what any other store would do.


People get all paranoid about buying online, but how hard is it for a server in a local restaurant to get your name, credit card number, and CC security code when they take your card away to settle your bill? We're pretty sure we know the restaurant where this happened with my husband's card.