stereocourier
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iTunes store account hacked

I'm posting this just to share my story and get reactions. It's a little detailed but I thought worth sharing.

On November 23, 2010 I purchased a single song from the iTunes store for .99. I used store credit that I had from a gift card I received last year. It was the first purchase I had made since July 2010.

On November 25, 2010 I received a receipt for 2 more separate orders to my account. These were for over $50 in iPhones apps. Here's a sampling of some of the purchases:

1 eREAD isoshu, v1.5, Seller: ChengDu YueTong Internet Information Co. Ltd (17+)
2 Plants vs. Zombies, v1.3, Seller: PopCap Games, Inc. (iDP)
3 Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge, v1.1, Seller: Lucasfilm International Services Inc.
4 Asphalt 5, v1.2.6, Seller: Gameloft (9+)
5 Let's Golf!® 2, v1.0.1, Seller: Gameloft (4+)
6 Frames & FX for Photos, v2.5.1, Seller: Imikimi, LLC (12+)
7 Stenches: A Zombie Tale of Trenches, v1.0.1, Seller: Thunder Game Works (9+)

I do not have a credit card linked to my account, so these were made using my store credit.

I have only 1 computer authorized for my account (my personal home computer). I live alone and no one else touches my Powerbook but me. I also DO NOT own an iPhone, so I would have no interest in apps.

After I saw these bizarre purchases, I checked my account. I noticed 2 strange things: My account information had changed: My street address was correct, but city, state and zip had changed to: Towson, MD 21286-7840. I have never lived in Maryland. Also, I noticed that my password recovery answer had changed to "Murray" in response to a question about my mother's maiden name. That's decidedly NOT my mother's maiden name. Also, my birthdate had changed to an incorrect month and day.

I immediately changed my password and my recovery question/answer challenge.

I reported problems on all of these purchases and also contacted iTunes Account Support by e-mail.

Within 24 hours I received an e-mail from "Vicki" at iTunes Customer Support. She wrote:

"When reviewing over your account "name@domain.net" and the two reported orders, it shows that the content purchased within them was acquired from the computer that is currently authorized for your iTunes account. So I strongly advise that you do consult with those in your household regarding the purchases made, and the charges that resulted from those purchases."

Further:

"I have gone and reversed the charges for the two orders....You will see a store credit in three to five business days....Please note that this is a one-time exception, as the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions state that all sales are final."

I am pleased that Apple is refunding my store credit and replied so quickly.

However, it is simply impossible that these purchases were made from my computer. Again, my Powerbook is the only computer I have ever authorized to access my account, and I am the only person with access to it.

I am not sure how this happened. Any thoughts or similar experiences?

Powerbook G4, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Nov 28, 2010 3:45 PM

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stereocourier

Q: iTunes store account hacked

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  • by cosmicdust73,

    cosmicdust73 cosmicdust73 Apr 2, 2011 4:22 AM in response to lizurdmom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 2, 2011 4:22 AM in response to lizurdmom
    I had the exact same problem 2-3 weeks back. Store credit stolen and payment info removed. I got refunded by Apple but I was expecting a better explanation as to why this happened. The problem appears to be pretty severe yet we hear nothing from Apple. I have yet to add my credit card details back into iTunes and I do not intend on doing so until confidence is restored. Horrible...

  • by Adrien Washington,

    Adrien Washington Adrien Washington Apr 3, 2011 7:52 AM in response to stereocourier
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 3, 2011 7:52 AM in response to stereocourier
    This literally just happened to me last night. I contacted Apple about it after finding 2 random Akon albums purchased using the credit that I had in my iTunes account (for a total of $21.98). Since last night I just got an e-mail a few minutes ago saying that my account would be credited but that it would take 3-5 days to happen. Also my account has been disabled but I replied to the e-mail with the requested information so that I can have my account enabled once again. I just got my iPad 2 on Thursday so I'm a little annoyed that this happened.. but hoping that my account will be re-activated SOONER rather than later so that I can get back to downloading from the iTunes store. Interesting to see that I'm not the only one experiencing this problem....

  • by Adrien Washington,

    Adrien Washington Adrien Washington Apr 3, 2011 7:58 AM in response to Adrien Washington
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 3, 2011 7:58 AM in response to Adrien Washington
    Wow after reading all of these threads its OBVIOUS that something is internally wrong within the iTunes store causing random charges to happen on accounts with funds already available. Apple really should fix this issue.. seriously there are too many people saying that their accounts are being drained to be considered a "hack" or simple coincidence.

  • by kubo12345,

    kubo12345 kubo12345 Apr 4, 2011 1:13 PM in response to Adrien Washington
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 4, 2011 1:13 PM in response to Adrien Washington
    same problem, I have not used any Apple product in 9 months since I got rid of iPhone. Reinstalled iTunes on weekend to update old iPod, and almost immediately got hit with recipt email for purchase of "州撲克 HD, 240,000 籌碼, Seller: Hongbin Suo " Only had credit of $15, got $10 deducted. Emailled support.
    2 computers authorized, only one with iTunes though. Cant deactivate the other. I've already changed password, and will remove iTunes. Address did not change, no CC on file.

  • by Tab1975,

    Tab1975 Tab1975 Apr 4, 2011 1:32 PM in response to stereocourier
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 4, 2011 1:32 PM in response to stereocourier
    Add me to the list - got hit yesterday for over $36.

    1 Weather+, v1.7, Seller: International Travel Weather Calculator (4+)
    Write a Review Report a Problem $0.99
    2 Final Fantasy III, v1.0.0, Seller: SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd. (9+)
    Write a Review Report a Problem $15.99
    3 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, v2.2, Seller: Warner Bros. (9+)
    Write a Review Report a Problem $4.99
    4 Penultimate, v2.3, Seller: Cocoa Box Design LLC (4+)
    Write a Review Report a Problem $1.99
    5 Dungeon Hunter 2 HD, v1.0.0, Seller: Gameloft (12+)
    Write a Review Report a Problem $6.99
    6 XSysInfo - device booster, v1.4.4, Seller: XZone Software LLC (4+)
    Write a Review Report a Problem $1.99

    Contacted Apple, got the "we got your e-mail" automated response. I didn't notice a change in address (will have to double check when I get home) but did notice the CC I had on file was now gone.

  • by Gunchkman,

    Gunchkman Gunchkman Apr 5, 2011 7:57 PM in response to stereocourier
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 5, 2011 7:57 PM in response to stereocourier
    Hey, Same thing happened to me. Apparently I downloaded 德州撲克(Texas Hold'em) and 20 dollars worth of chips in this game, unbeknownst to me. I talked to my dad, who happens to work at apple, and he has pretty much sent an email directly to the VP of Itunes. Hopefully that will allow this problem to be fixed and if not well that *****.

    Edit: Also this was a use of the allowance feature to give me money so it is not only the gift cards.

    Message was edited by: Gunchkman

  • by The Real HK,

    The Real HK The Real HK Apr 5, 2011 8:11 PM in response to MichaelTLH
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 5, 2011 8:11 PM in response to MichaelTLH
    Today I received the following email notifications from iTunes for the following unauthorized transactions:
    Allowance for inan398ming@hotmail.com 1 $40.00
    Allowance for yan979pingkung@hotmail.com 1 $40.00
    Allowance for han2012tzui@hotmail.com 1 $40.00
    Allowance for michingch@hotmail.com 1 $40.00
    Allowance for semiable38@hotmail.com 1 $40.00

    These charges did not appear to post to my checking account (yet), but I called my bank and canceled my debit card. My bank instructed me to keep an eye on my checking account and report these charges if they do show up.

    First I changed my password, then I also spoke to someone in iTunes customer service (after the robot hung up on me twice) and he suggested that sometimes people log in to the wrong iTunes accounts by mistake and conduct business as usual, not realizing that it's not their account. I was like: what.

    Whomever got in to my account changed my debit card to a number that I did not recognize (I could only see last four digits, but it wasn't mine), and they changed my city, state, and ZIP, but my name and street address remained the same. The invoices emailed to me by iTunes had the last four digits of my debit card, so I flipped at first. I had my identity stolen a few months ago so I am ultra paranoid now and very cautious, or so I thought. I also emailed iTunes customer service with the order numbers, etc.

    Then I removed the (unrecognized) credit card from my account, fixed my address, and de-authorized the five computers / devices that I'd had authorized. I just did this last bit out of instinct. Only three of the five are computers to which I have regular access (the other two are computers that are no longer in use), one of which is my work PC, which I suspect has in the past been compromised (although I haven't used iTunes on it in ages). I'm almost positive my previous identity theft occurred through my work computer, but I can't prove that. But we get a lot of viruses at work.

    A facebook friend of mine, who works in information security, suggested that perhaps my iTunes account had been compromised not due to an issue on Apple's part, but via my own computer, an older MacBook Pro, which he said would have much more serious and scarier implications for me. I'm not a computer expert, so I don't really know what he means by that. I hope to learn more and will post here if / when I do.

  • by Tab1975,

    Tab1975 Tab1975 Apr 6, 2011 9:07 AM in response to stereocourier
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 6, 2011 9:07 AM in response to stereocourier
    Following up, got an e-mail today from iTunes stating they were reimbursing my money, and had disabled my iTunes. They state this is a one time deal.

    The hacking better be, too, or bye bye iTunes.

  • by Carl Johnson,

    Carl Johnson Carl Johnson Apr 6, 2011 9:24 AM in response to Tab1975
    Level 1 (80 points)
    Apr 6, 2011 9:24 AM in response to Tab1975
    That's a fairly rude response. I've had that before, when there have been downloading issues and they've "graciously" offered to fix them, and I understand, they don't want people taking advantage of them by getting free downloads. But this problem clearly has nothing to do with the people being ripped off, and everything to do with Apple. We're not buying these rogue apps (which shouldn't even exist if they can siphon off accounts -- isn't that a security risk that should be apparent), we're not giving out our passwords to others. There is no chance that my account was compromised anywhere but at Apple's end, and they're still giving out varying responses to what appears to be a major problem. I was about to cut my cable and purchase a number of TV seasons through iTunes, but now I won't, and I'll make my music purchases elsewhere, too. I can't risk having all my personal info ransacked and having to beg for Apple's indulgence to fix it.

  • by NuPoet,

    NuPoet NuPoet Apr 6, 2011 6:46 PM in response to stereocourier
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 6, 2011 6:46 PM in response to stereocourier
    I got hit today as well with the unauthorized purchase of 德州撲克(Texas Hold'em), 560,000 筹码, Seller: Hongbin Suo. I found this thread via Google. I emailed ITS and they responded within a few hours, refunded my account and the disabled my account. I responded to a few questions and now my account is reenabled. ITS did this all in a matter of 5 hours...must be good day for them .


    Points of interest:

    I recently added a iTunes gift card to my account.
    I added the GC to my account with a MacBook Pro.
    My credit card information was removed.
    My billing city and address were changed to MD.

    Seems like this is a pretty common occurrence as of late. Apple needs to address this with its consumers.

  • by Tesche,

    Tesche Tesche Apr 7, 2011 9:15 AM in response to NuPoet
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2011 9:15 AM in response to NuPoet
    Got hit by the Texas Hold'em folks as well this morning for $24.99.

    Apple is making a "one time exception" to their policy and refunding my money and resetting my account. They also "suggest" that I change my password following their guidelines. I will change it, of course, but I've got to say, as wide spread as this seems. It feels more like an Apple security issue and not a user security issue. People aren't guessing our passwords, and they shouldn't be able to brute force their way into our accounts, there should be security measures in place to protect against that on Apple's end.

    With the exception of a few instances of "allowances" being attacked, the issue seems strongly tied to gift cards, so I hope Apple is looking into this and not writing it off as an acceptable level of customer dissatisfaction. I for one, will be ceasing to purchase Apple gift cards for friends and family until such time as I feel like this is under control...

  • by brad p,

    brad p brad p Apr 7, 2011 12:38 PM in response to Tesche
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 7, 2011 12:38 PM in response to Tesche
    apple is responding like they have discovered they have a breach in the gift card products and they decided to just accept the hit without acknowledging it to anyone..hope they found out how to prevent it in the future..

  • by Tesche,

    Tesche Tesche Apr 7, 2011 2:35 PM in response to brad p
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2011 2:35 PM in response to brad p
    Where'd you get that info?

    It's funny to me that the reps pretend not to know what you are referring to and are confused that your billing address is different on different bills....and by funny I mean annoying.

  • by vaalkyrie,

    vaalkyrie vaalkyrie Apr 9, 2011 1:09 AM in response to stereocourier
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 9, 2011 1:09 AM in response to stereocourier
    My account was hacked today. 6 purchases of a total of around $200 worth of 'account allowances' (gift cards?) were made within 2 minutes of each other. Then my account info was changed to my street number but the city was changed to Lewisburg, TN in Bedford County. Also, the credit card number was changed. I changed my password, but I feel violated.

    Message was edited by: vaalkyrie

  • by brad p,

    brad p brad p Apr 9, 2011 7:23 AM in response to vaalkyrie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 9, 2011 7:23 AM in response to vaalkyrie
    just a thought,

    the change of cc # on the hacked accounts:
    you dont think the same cc# would be used on all the hacked that had the cc# changed, do you? i wouldnt think so, but id be interested to prove it wrong!

    for the people that had there cc changed to a diff. # , would you want to post the last 4 digits?
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