itunes credit card fraud

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).

The transactions are not complete! They are still pending until tomorrow at midnight. So if I could get a hold of someone authorized to cancel a transaction at Apple than they have to cancel it!

But here is the problem. No one at Apple/Itunes will help. There is no actual person that can deal with Itunes accounts, Its crazy!

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.

Chris, I guess I've just been lucky with PayPal. I use your method when sites don't accept PayPal. It's the safe bet for sure to remove your info when you can.

Ugh, I agree with Chris. PayPal is NOT the way to go.

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.

Like Chris, my CC info hasn't been stroed on my itunes account for years, and I get the free stuff every week.

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.