Help with fraudulent purchases

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If you would like to alert itunes support then click Support at the top of this page and then click the link under Contact Us.

I have played Haypi Kingdom for just over a year. I can tell you exactly what is going on with the unauthorized charges and what I have done to try and stop it from happening.

Haypi makes money from selling in game "coins" for real world money. These purchases are made through itunes, paypal or Google Play (depending on the platform you play on). Typically coins cost $5, $10, $20 or $50 depending on the quantity you purchase.

A black market in game currency has sprung up on the Internet. There are several sites that purport to offer "discount coins" if you purchase through them instead of the normal channels. Various stories are told to explain how this is possible such as, bulk purchasing and purchasing in foreign currencies that offer a better coin to $ ratio. These are all ridiculously false. The "Discount Coins" are sold at 3 to 5 times the quantity normally sold through the proper channels. There is only one way this is possible.....

Sites such as www.gpointsshop.comtake orders for the coins from players who pay a fraction of their true value. The player gives their user name and password to the "discount purchaser" who logs into the account from a device that has been linked to a hacked itunes account and makes in game purchases from the hacked itunes account. Often the hacked account is a legitimate itunes account that has been hacked but the hacker has changed the billing information to use a stolen credit card number not belonging to the itunes account holder (this increases the time it takes for the two victims (itunes and credit card holders) to realize that their account is being abused and notify apple. This allows for many charges before the accounts are frozen. In this way 4500 coins (normally costing $300) are sold for $100.

Haypi is aware this happens and quietly tells players that coins should only be purchased through the three official channels. However, when I brought evidence of who is purchasing to haypi they refused to investigate, let alone take action.

The use of itunes and credit card fraud is always illegal, regardless of the circumstances, but it is made even more pathetic by the fact its done with the full understanding that money is being stolen from some unnamed person (or perhaps Apple if they give a refund). At first in game players did not understand how the coins were sold so cheaply and chose to participate in the fraud with a cloak of ignorance to protect them. On several occasions I have spoken out publicly in the game to explain how the process works, that it involves a crime (not just in game cheating) and that it is not victimless. No one currently using the "discount coin" services can reasonably claim to not have been told the true origin of their coins now.

When speaking to the individuals failed to curtail the participation of the fraud I reached out to the leaders in the game (the game has alliances, think teams, with a leader in charge of each) to fully explain what was going on in the hopes we could self correct the problem. My favorite reply came from Panlux (in game user name) who's alliance mates have run up ten of thousands of dollars on other peoples itunes accounts and credit cards participating in this fraud, he said, "...as a lawyer i have a professional obligation not to participate in a fraud myself but I have no obligation to tell anyone else not to...". Since that conversation there has been an increase, not a decrease in his members use of the fraud. Please keep in mind this is not a game played by children. Although some teenagers may play the vast majority of players are adult, professional and more than capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong.

After failing to stop the fraud by agreement and reason I wrote to Haypi itself and sent in over a dozen screen shots showing individuals admitting to using the fraud to purchase coins. I asked that a letter be sent to everyone in the game detailing the nature of the fraud and that participation was against both in game rules and the law in most nations. Haypi replied saying sending a mass letter was difficult (but the do it weekly to announce contests, sales and tournaments) and required authorization from "my boss". No letter has ever been sent. When I wrote back again and asked what was being done with those that freely admit to using the service I was told that support is unable to view the screen shots I sent them and could i resend them in a different format. This was a week after sending them and only in reply to my request for follow up.

I gave up on Haypi support. They are either incompetent or enjoy some measure of profit from this activity. i can see no other options.

I then wrote Itunes support to share everything I had gathered on the issue with them in the hopes they would help to prevent the sort of fraud mentioned above. Itunes has not written me back.

So now I share all of this with those that have been on the victim end of this transaction.

Feel free to contact Haypi directly at kingdomsupport@haypi.com

If you'd like to contact the individuals using the fraud service and explain directly to them how you were affected by their actions post here and I will send you their contact info.

This should not be a hard problem to bring to an end, its a shame that adults behave this way when they think they are anonymous.

Ekcd, thank you very much for doing this! My account just got the charge from Haypi today and I hope the issue can be solved soon. I will spread this to my friend as well.

ive had this on my account, they have replaced my card number with another and purchased coins for camelot, $100's worth.

have advised itunes via email but could not understand it until i saw thw above thread.

Many Thanks,

Hi everyone. I also play Haypi Kingdom and was made aware of Gpoints a few months ago. I looked into Gpoints for Haypi Kingdom and it just seemed to good to be true. Purchase coins at 50% the rates or less so I started digging some more.

What I learned is that Gpoints uses credit card fraud against other itunes accounts in order to full fill the order. Many players that use Gpoints don't realize what's going one or worse know what's going on and continue using the service. So I've made it my mission to educate anyone I can about Gpoints and the fraud scheme they created that Haypi Kingdom supports.

A few weeks ago I found evidence of at least three different players using Gpoints on Haypi Kingdom. I took several screen shots and submitted to Haypi Kingdom support so they would check into their accounts and have the Gpoints coins removed and/or accounts banned.

You think with evidence as clear as players admitting to using Gpoints, waiting on orders, etc Haypi Kingdom Support would do something but they turned a blind eye and said they would not do anything to these players. I even have email correspondence from Haypi Kingdom Support admitting that they're aware of Gpoints and the fraud they use but Haypi Kingdom has chosen to do nothing.

I have since stopped purchasing any coins from Haypi Haypi Kindgom until the situation with Gpoints is fixed. I recommend anyone having these issues alert Apple and request Haypi Kingdom be removed from itunes.