Fraud Charges from iTunes

[NYHorsewoman]

Hi all, quick update, a few weeks ago there was a charge on my Amex card for $108, I wrote to Apple and they reversed the charge with no questions and no reply to the email. Today there were 5 $1.00 charges pending and then 3 charges of varying amounts on that same card ($11.00, $30 something and $46). I have not purchased anything and after checking my iTunes account there were no purchases associated with those charge amounts. I called Amex and they said they couldn't do anything yet because they were pending. I got in touch with iTunes and they said that I should cancel my card because they were definitely fraudulent charges! So, I thought I would pass this along for people to check their charge card statements for small amounts that are from iTunes to see if they have fradulent charges as well.

 

[SweetPoison]

Definitely cancel that card! Glad it all worked out in the end.

 

[Dee Ashley]

My husband checks our Amex card and BofA MC every day. He questions all small purchases--less than $5.00--as many scammers do the small amounts to see if the card holder is watching their accounts. His card got hit for 3 $.99 itune charges not too long ago. The next day we got a call from Best Buy--someone was trying to buy and ship $1500 worth of camera equipment to Atlanta--we live in California. Needless to say, Amex called us to say they had held up and then cancelled our account as soon as they heard from Best Buy. New cards came registered mail the next day.

Glad you were quickly on it and Itunes and Amex were helpful.

 

[blucente]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, we all tend to ignore the fact that there are thieves out there trying to take advantage of us. These types of posts are a reminder for all to be careful and and question any suspicious activity. Unfortunately I learned the hard way.

5.0

 

[Good karma]

Yep, these thieves will always be there, best thing to do is check the card statements everyday and query anything that looks odd

Sent from my iPad using iPF, using iOS 4.3.2

 

[china_cat84]

Hi all, quick update, a few weeks ago there was a charge on my Amex card for $108, I wrote to Apple and they reversed the charge with no questions and no reply to the email. Today there were 5 $1.00 charges pending and then 3 charges of varying amounts on that same card ($11.00, $30 something and $46). I have not purchased anything and after checking my iTunes account there were no purchases associated with those charge amounts. I called Amex and they said they couldn't do anything yet because they were pending. I got in touch with iTunes and they said that I should cancel my card because they were definitely fraudulent charges! So, I thought I would pass this along for people to check their charge card statements for small amounts that are from iTunes to see if they have fradulent charges as well.

This happened to me a few months ago. Scammers hacked my iTunes account and bought 2 $40 electronic gift cards and sent them to themselves. With my problem, there was a record of the purchases in iTunes and the username of the person the cards were sent to was just a bunch of random letters. Luckily, my paypal account is what I use for my purchases. This way, I have more protection as I can file a report with paypal as well as iTunes. I did get my money back, but it was a process. The money took about a week to get put back into my account ($80 is a noticeable amount!) and my iTunes account was on lockdown because of the fraudulent activity. I had to jump through hoops to get it reinstated...changed my password a million times and emailed iTunes several times. I also went online when this happened and a lot of users were having this same problem - same dollar amounts and user name cards were sent to - at the same time. I wonder how often these bad guys get caught.

Sent from my iPad using iPF - 64gig iPad2 White WiFi

 

[exile]

Edit- old thread I know but didn't want to start a new one.

Some way to check your email the second you wake up in the morning... Oh hi paypal. $19 charged from iTunes for Kingdoms Conquest? What the hell?

I haven't bought anything from iTunes probably in the last 3 years... Logged into my account and saw the purchase history.. $33 worth of Kingdoms Conquest purchases that were not completed.. but $19 went through to paypal.. I guess after the 19 went through my account was automatically frozen.

Filed a claim with paypal. Was still anxious to hear more info about this though. So I called apple support and the rep told me to go to expresslane.apple.com. Filed a claim and requested immediate phone call. Minute later rep called me and we talked about the dispute.

I did the right thing to file a dispute with paypal and just have to wait until paypal figures everything out. My account got frozen so the $33 wasn't charged through.... Hope this idiot that bought this.... Kingdoms Conquest app is enjoying it...

 

[RAC]

Since I was scammed $2,000 on iTunes 18 months ago I have withdrawn my credit card details and use only iTunes cards now. I did get my money back but who needs that sort of hassle.

 

[Seadog]

Apple is good about pulling fraudulent charges from an account, but it is fustrating that these people get through even the best safeguards. Years ago, I had a charge from Apple for a new high end computer system. My credit card company put a stop on it and worked with Apple to settle everything. My only problem was getting through a couple days during the holidays without a credit card. And the big holdup there was the postal holidays.

 

[exile]

+1

24 hours later, paypal rep left a voicemail. Checked my email and everything was resolved. Regardless of the amount, fraud is fraud and it sucks when you're the victim :thumbdown:

 

[mlaurencg4]

Does anyone have useful advice on preventing this kind of fraud? I use a "bombproof" complex string password with my appleid. Similar "bombproof" complex string for wireless key. I only make purchases within my home. Is the weak point Apple's security protection during our purchases, or have the victims used weak passwords over not-so-secure networks?

 

[exile]

Not really to be completely honest. When I used to work at the bank I would just do an affidavit. With paypal, just file a claim. Provide as much info as possible, that's all what matters.

File a claim going onto expresslane.apple.com as well.

Edit-
I think it's just apples security in general... I could be wrong.