An unsuspecting reader of The Register, named Peter, woke up one morning to discover an email informing him of a "£10 Monthly Gift for wqfaqapk445@hotmail.com", an account he'd never heard of. The vouchers, sent to a recipient's email address, can be used to purchase music and audio books from the iTunes Music Store. Peter checked his iTunes purchase history, where to his horror he discovered scores of these "Monthly Gift" purchases, all of which had been generated within a short space of time on 19 January, but only one of which generated an email - because Apple really doesn't want to bother you while "you're" spending. He was informed of the theft by an e-mail from Apple, saying his £1,000 gift purchase had been confirmed, sum which didn't alert any of the iTunes security policies (if there are any) for an user that didn't spend more than 5£ a month. Ever.
Apple describes iTunes Monthly Gifts as a "great way to give a gift that keeps on giving".
"How is it even possible for iTunes to be used as some type of glorified bank account? Why the hell would I want to use iTunes to transfer money to people?
"It is completely unacceptable that Apple has turned iTunes into some type of pseudo-PayPal without the security measures, monitoring and care being taken to run something so important,"
"iTunes isn't just a system for buying a bit of music; it's turned into a banking system that can wipe out your finances and put whole families into financial limbo." Peter concluded.
[UPDATE]
It's been over a week since the story appeared, but accounts continue to pour into an Apple customer support forum, echoing the accusations made to The Register - and, boy are people mad. Apparently, customers seeking Apple's help have received a pat response that sounds awfully familiar: cancel your credit card and report the charges to your bank. Is it possible somebody at Apple really bought the advertisement "Macs don't need anti-virus software"? 'ere you go you Apple "geniuses", go get some protection!
Via: The Register, Engadget
