Apple gift card scams: Judge rules that Cupertino company benefits

Apple gift card scams: Judge rules that Cupertino company benefits

Apple gift card scams are one of the most common tactics of scammers impersonating the IRS, and a judge has now agreed with a group of victims who argue that Apple benefits from these scams, and ought to do more to help.To get more news about 抖音充值, you can visit nnxwheels.com official website.

The scam victims filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Apple profits from the fraudulently obtained cards, and is in a position to block the use of them and refund purchasers. Apple asked for the case to be dismissed, a motion which has now been denied …

How Apple gift card scams work

A typical Apple gift card scan works like this. A victim receives a phone call from someone claiming to work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). They are told that there is a problem with their tax filing, and that unless the matter is resolved immediately, they face arrest. When asked how to arrange payment, victims are asked to buy Apple gift cards (either Store or iTunes cards), and then pass the details to the caller.

This ought to clearly signal that it’s a scam: The IRS would of course never demand payment via gift cards. However, some people are so panicked that they are taken in by the scam and buy the cards.

What happens next depends on the type of card. With store cards, the scammers usually buy high-value products like laptops and smartphones, which are then sold. iTunes gift card scams usually work in a slightly different way, typically being used to buy paid apps owned by the scammers, so they receive 70% or 85% of the money when paid by Apple.

Either way, the cards are either immediately or very quickly used, at which point the victim’s money is gone.Variations on the scam include claims that a relative or friend in distress needs urgent assistance, or that the victim will be taken to court for an unpaid bill.

Court ruling
Apple filed a motion for the case to be dismissed on a number of grounds, one of which is that gift cards are sold with a published refund policy which says no refund is possible after a card has been redeemed. A judge has now refused this motion, allowing the case to proceed.

Court House News reports that most of the 11 counts in the claim were dismissed, including the claim that Apple aided in the scams, but two key ones remain: That Apple benefits from the scams, and that the company can do more to help victims.
The Federal Trade Commission estimates that gift card scams cost victims $30M in 2020, and around a quarter of these involve Apple cards. However, this estimate is based only on reported cases, so the true amount is likely very much higher, as many victims are too embarrassed to admit that they have fallen for a scam. Some have suggested that the true sum is likely around 10 times the official estimate.

The next stage in the case will be discovery, where Apple will be required to hand over relevant information about how it handles these scams. Information likely to be sought includes the company’s mechanisms for detecting fraudulent gift card transactions, and the total amount of money it makes in commission on scams.