Apple gift card scam victims reported losses of $93.5 million over four years

A class-action complaint lodged on Friday claims Apple not only enables iTunes gift card scams, which have become increasingly widespread over the past few years, but also profits from the activity...To get more news about 抖音充值, you can visit nnxwheels.com official website.

In support documents, Apple notes scams typically follow a "formula" in which an attacker persuades a victim — sometimes under duress — to send them money in the form of an iTunes gift card. With a card number in hand, scammers can redeem the funds by making in-app purchases in apps they control. Alternatively, scammers can resell the card number on the black or gray markets...

As purveyor of iTunes gift cards and the App Store, Apple has unique insight into fraudulent dealings and can monitor, halt and reverse such processes with minimal effort, according to plaintiffs....

Losses from victims who reported iTunes gift card scams to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission exceeded an estimated $93.5 million between 2015 and 2019. While exact numbers are unknown, the suit asserts only a small percentage of affected consumers report incidents to the FTC. If the true value of collective scam operations hit $1 billion, for example, Apple would have retained some $300 million in commissions.

My take: Because I've never purchased an iTunes gift card, I never understood the purpose of those racks of unsold cards I see whenever I go to the supermarket. Now I get their utility—as a widely available cash alternative for con men posing as landlords, debt collectors, IRS agents and the like.