Fraudulant iTunes accounts for sale online in China

By Geoff Duncan January 6, 2011

Apple’s iTunes service is being targeted by scammers again—and this time, instead of a teenager using stolen credit cards to buy copies of his own song to send it up the sales charts, it’s cybercriminals in China offering iTunes accounts linked to stolen credit cards for auction on the online auction site Taobao. And although prices start as low as 1 yuan (about US$0.15), the typical sale price is about 200 yuan, or US$30. And that buys customers as much as $200 with of digital downloads from Apple.

Information about the auctions first appeared in China’s Global Times. Although it’s not clear whether the all the accounts have been set up using stolen credit card info or hacked into by way of obvious or insecure passwords, the auction listings are pretty clear that anyone buying the accounts need to get in and get out fast: listings for many of the higher-priced accounts warn users they need to make any purchased within a period of a few hours, since the account will likely be shut down.

Apple’s iTunes service has been targeted by a growing number of scams in recent years, and Apple has warned users repeatedly to safeguard their account information and personal details, as well as select strong passwords for their accounts.

Taobao is one of China’s largest Internet companies, with more than 200 million registered users. Industry estimates for its online auction business had the company hosting in the neighborhood of $60 billion in transactions in 2010.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Apple

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Gaming

How to play Google Stadia in Safari on the iPhone and iPad

google stadia release date november 19 controller pax west 1 2

Stadia, a cloud gaming service that streams games to web browsers and dedicated apps, opened its doors to the general public in April after a limited launch at the end of 2019. While PC and Android gamers could stream their favorites to compatible devices, iPhone and iPad owners were excluded from the Stadia cool club. Thankfully, that has now changed.

In December, Google introduced a Progressive Web Application for Safari. It doesn’t require you to download anything from the App Store but rather relies on HTML, Javascript, and so on to deliver an “app” within a browser environment. Essentially, it bypasses Apple’s restrictions on game-streaming services.

Mobile

The best iMessage games for 2022

iMessage

Did you know you can play games on your iPhone using iMessage? Well, you do now because Apple's inter-device messaging platform lets you play games with friends on your iPhone or your iPad. As long as a contact of yours has an iPhone or iPad, and so long as they have iMessage enabled, you'll be able to play games with them. That said, you'll have to download each iMessage game first, which is why we've put together a list of the best iMessage games available right now.

From chess and word games to crazy golf and bowling, you'll be surprised at how much variety iMessage games offer. To download any of them, simply start a new conversation in Messages, tap the gray App Store icon (next to the iMessage text box), and then tap the blue App Store icon. Search for and download the game you want, and once it has finished downloading, go back to your iMessage conversation and scroll right along the apps tab until you see the game. Easy!
GamePigeon

Deals

8 products on sale now that won’t be cheaper on Prime Day 2020

Amazon Prime Day packages

Can't wait for Prime Day 2020 to begin? If you're looking for great deals, you can start now! We've tracked down eight products on sale that we just can't see being any cheaper on the big day. All these products are the latest technology and some are only a couple of weeks old, so seeing discounts on them already is a big deal. If you're worried that something might end up cheaper on Prime Day, you can always order it now, avoid opening the item, then return it for a full refund after buying it for less on Prime Day. Honestly though? We can't see this happening. Snap up these great deals today while there's still stock.
Fitbit Charge 3 -- $100, was $150

With a huge price cut of $50, the Fitbit Charge 3 is perfect if you've been eyeing activity trackers but couldn't make up your mind. This wristband will monitor everything from the daily steps you make, the calories you burn, as well as your heart rate every step of the day. It's swim-proof and water-resistant so you won't have to worry about taking it off at the gym or in the water, plus you can choose for it to track over 15 different forms of exercise, depending on how you love to work up a sweat. It also tracks how well you're sleeping. Reduced to just $100, this is the ideal time to jump on board the Fitbit train.