Unauthorized iTunes Charges!

Ha. Well you are telling this to someone that just had $175 ripped off from them! 😟 Sorry, not buying that there isn't some fraud going on here using iTunes servers. I actually just verified that all of my other purchases (the last being one month ago) have been charged to my PP Debit Card via iTunes...now all of the sudden $175 in charges to an old billing agreement with PP from 2006 via iTunes. Something is seriously up here. I called PayPal to verify that my legitimate charges were being billed to my PP debit card before, and we were able to pull up a couple of recent charges from July 4th (two charges that day one for $11.99 -- an album, the first I have bought in years -- and one for $3.98), that were BOTH billed to my debit card...not this obscure iTunes/PayPal billing agreement that was used in today's transactions. So how the heck does that happen? Had the charges gone through on my debit card, they would be much easier to fight, but someone, somehow, was able to bill them using this old, but still open, billing agreement from 2006? ***? Of course, it is now closed with PayPal and no more charges have come through, but Apple still better explain this to me. PayPal also was able to check any logins to my account (IP addresses) and no one has accessed it besides me, at my location here, and the Apple iTunes store! So some obscure this person isn't accessing my PayPal account directly to setup billing agreements with iTunes. This is all from an old billing agreement that was created over four years ago, that iTunes has even legitimately billed for years, since I had put a debit card on file with them for my purchases.

Message was edited by: printergirl

I am about over them too! According to PP CS, because the charges came through on a "Billing Agreement," set up with iTunes all the way back in 2006 (which incidentally was not showing up on my end in my PayPal account, from what I could tell they had my PP Debit Card on file for charges in my iTunes account), they say I will be hard pressed to get a reimbursement from them and to take it up with Apple. I have had them cancel the billing agreement from 2006 and have not seen any more charges show up since, although one did happen exactly ONE minute before the cancellation happened (while I was on the phone with PayPal).

I have filed a claim with PP anyway, but am not holding my breath. According to others in my situation, they have had no luck with direct billing agreements between Apple iTunes and PP and getting their money refunded.

Now that I think about it, however, any purchases I have made from iTunes this year (99¢ here and 99¢ there), that I know are legitimate, HAVE been billed to my PayPal debit card by Apple (I will research that, but I am pretty sure that is the case). These charges were NOT, they were debited directly from my PP account via iTunes! Something is seriously wrong here with Apple servers, obviously.

I agree, but Apple is involved in this too, and has some serious issues. It has happened to a ton of people, and I found a lot on line this morning, about this going on just recently to many people. One guy had his bank account drained by iTunes, until it was empty, to the tune of almost $600. Those with credit cards can simply dispute the charges, but those with bank accounts on file with Apple or direct billing via PayPal are having a much harder time. I also found this little bit of information:

An independent Vietnamese iPhone developer by the name of “Thuat Nguyen” currently has 42 of the top 50 books in the iTunes App Store “Books Category”. Most of these books/apps were released back in April this year and have little to no user ratings at all. Well then how are they dominating this iTunes category? It has been reported that a large number of iTunes accounts have been hacked, with as many as $600 dollars being spent from a single account without the consent of the account holder to buy these apps – hence making it to the top of the charts. Sounds to me like Apple has a lot of explaining to do and a lot or reimbursements to make!

Check out this story from Apple Insider: http://tinyurl.com/2by5y44

Apple has some serious explaining to do to those of us that are out serious money here!

Bingo! See I am not crazy! Yes, PayPal severed my account and it stopped. How much did they get you for? I am so ticked, I was taken for $173.15, with five different transactions, the last of which was for $40 some odd dollars, WHILE I was on the phone with PayPal!!!!

And, like you, only my legitimate purchases are showing up in my iTunes account. Whatever all these charges are for are not showing up in my iTunes account. Apple better seriously refund our money on these charges or I will be ticked off! I can't afford to be out almost $200 right now. 😟

I HIGHLY suggest anyone who has a credit card on file or iTunes linked to their PayPal account, at any time in the past, make sure that their PayPal and iTunes account link is severed by calling PayPal. I couldn't even see a billing agreement on file with iTunes, when I logged into my PayPal account this AM, although the rep on the phone could see one that dated back from 2006. My funding source with iTunes has always been my debit card for the past couple of years. iTunes has not directly debited my PayPal account like this for as long as I can remember...now all of the sudden the charges show up like that! Makes not sense at all. As a security measure I have also changed both my PayPal and Apple passwords and taken ANY type of funding source off my iTunes account (choose none). I don't download enough stuff to warrant having a funding source on file.

Chris, of course I removed any payment information from my account! I am not stupid. I am an online merchant myself, and even as a small online merchant it is my respectability, legally, to keep my customers information safe. I would expect no less from a huge company like Apple with mine. If I were in this situation, I would ultimately be responsible for any losses incurred by my customer, and probably pay a stiff penalty to boot for allowing it to happen.

And as far as the billing agreement, when I logged into my PayPal account there was no such "billing agreement" showing up in my account, or I would have canceled it a long time ago. I canceled any billing agreements I had with other company via PayPal many, many years ago. Those other billing agreements showed up, all as canceled, but there was nothing there for iTunes at all, or they would have been canceled as well. I was not even aware there WAS an existing billing agreement! According to PP, the billing agreement that was used for payment was from 2006. They could see it on their end, but I couldn't see it on mine to cancel it. The rep had to cancel it over the phone for me.

Apple iTunes has been charging the CC I had on file with iTunes for years for any of my purchases, not this obscure billing agreement from four years ago! In my iTunes account, it showed my credit card on file as my funding source! Obviously you are in some way affiliated with Apple, based on the number of posts you have etc., Apple needs to be aware that this is happening and make it stop before other people get taken for money as well. This is terrible to people who can ill afford it in this economy.

I have run across far to many people online, through various message boards, forums, etc. today (I have been obsessed with this all day, since it happened), who it has happened to in the last 24-48 hours, in exactly the same manner! Direct removal of PayPal funds on old "billing agreements" that they had on file with Apple many, many years ago and haven't used for quite some time. I have checked all of my legitimate Apple iTunes purchases for the last six months or so, not hard since there weren't many, and all were charged to my card on file, NOT directly debited in this manner, like they were this morning. Obviously, Apple has something going on through their servers for this to keep happening to so many people in the exact same manner. I understand that after the security breach I put a link to earlier, you say that Apple now requires the security code to make purchases to a card on file. Well the people I am speaking with today aren't having their CC charged, they are having their PP accounts charged, many on agreements that are old and haven't been used as their billing method for years, just like me!

Sounds to me like whomever was doing this last month, by charging peoples credit cards on file, now realize they need the security code to make those charges and have moved on to billing people who had some sort of "billing agreement" set up with PayPal. This really *****. I have been an Apple user since 1985, a devotee who has always exalted Apple, a "fan gal" if you would like to call me, and I am so mad I could spit right now. 😟

On my second call the PayPal, this afternoon, after my disputes were filed, I was told the ball is in Apple's court to decide whether I get a refund or not!

Message was edited by: printergirl

Message was edited by: printergirl

Ha. Well son of a gun! I just now got receipts for these so called purchases made on my account this morning (12 hours plus later). How about all the charges are written in freakin' Chinese/Vietnamese/or some other Asian language. Son of a gun!!!! There you go!

Here are screen shots of the charges for you (I am livid)!

http://tinyurl.com/2676rgq
http://tinyurl.com/2595kuj
http://tinyurl.com/2epv7sf
http://tinyurl.com/23x44gt

Anyone see a pattern here?

Still waiting for the final receipt to come through. They are all written in Asian writing. My receipts for iTunes purchases that I legitimately make never are!

And here is another kicker...no wonder I can't see them in my current iTunes account, the email used on these receipts must be for an OLD iTunes account I had along time ago, which is probably tied to that 2006 agreement on file with PayPal. Now this is all coming together! I haven't used that email since at least 2006! Un-freakin-believable.

Wow, just logged into that old account, using what I thought was the password back then and BOOM there they are...all the freaking charges! It even tells me that I have a balance I need to resolve for a charge that couldn't go through for $37.85, which they must have tried AFTER I severed that PayPal billing agreement this morning. Are you kidding me? It wants me to update my billing info so they can push that charge through. R U KIDDING ME!

Never in a million years would I have thought that all of this was occurring on an ancient account that hasn't been used for almost five years for anything! No wonder I couldn't see them in my real account! All I can say is WOW!!! This is so unbelievable. I went ahead and changed my password on that account while I had it open. UN-BELIEVABLE!

And, obviously, being that I have not logged into that account in many, many years, I am NOT the source of the information required to get into it, either through any type of key logging or other method that may have been used to secure the passwords on my end. Not that I ever thought I was, I'm just saying!

Of course I don't! I have used my iTunes (the current and true one) for many years now and updated it as needed. No problems. This account is obviously one I had created many, many years ago (long before I got my iPhone and iPad that I rely on iTunes for) and had forgotten all about! I was absolutely shocked to see that address at the top of the receipts that just came through! All along I had been assuming these were somehow tied to my current, active account. Not so, it appears. So, how did someone in an Asian country get information for an account I have not logged into in years and years?!?!?!?!?!

Chris, don't think I haven't run across that bit of info. I have been obsessing about this for over 12 hours now...it has ruined my Sunday. But, there are a couple of things with that particular scenario that don't jive with my experience.

1) If taobao changed my account info, then why was I able to log in with the password I thought it was, based on the last time I logged into that account many years ago? I seriously doubt they changed it, let the person continue to download for several hours, and then changed it back again to my original password again! That defies all logic! I can see there is even a pending charge for $37 some odd dollar that Apple wants me to pay, since they couldn't get a sixth charge through when PP canceled the billing agreement for me this AM.

2) For computer authorizations it shows only ONE computer authorized. I am assuming that is mine?

Based on the actions that they take at taobao, described in the thread you sent, it doesn't seem to fit. I can't imagine they would change my password, wait hours until they can no longer access my funds, and change it back for me to check 12 hours later!

Plus, and here is the big plus, how would they get account information for basically, for all practical purposes, except on Apple's servers, a "dead" account that has not been accessed for many years? Not from key logging, or any issue on my end that would have caused someone to be able to access my account. I have never signed into that account from my iPad or iPhone, ever either! So where did that account log in information they have access to come from?

It all just seems a bit to suspect to fall into the taebeo scenerio. Others, that possibly fell victim to that, reported they could not log into their account because the passwords had been reset.

I am looking at the purchase history on this account now. The last time a purchase was made on this account, before today, was in 2007 it looks like. I did make that purchase, which ironically was for "Ave Maria" (the song)...LOL! Show you what my purchasing habits are. Not freakin' comic books and games!

Message was edited by: printergirl