Massive hacking of iTunes accounts happening right now!

vaughnmr · 07-04-2010, 03:06 PM

Someone is evidently hacking the iTunes accounts at this time, and many, many people have reported having anywhere from $100 to $600 stolen from their credit or debit cards. You would be advised to immediately check your account and change password if you are an itunes member!

see Engadget:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/04/i...onnected-to-i/

Also:

http://www.indepthwithtech.com/news/...re-hacked.html

More:

http://www.macstories.net/news/itune...ese-developer/

Also reported elsewhere, but Apple is not saying anything at this time...

vaughnmr · 07-04-2010, 03:08 PM

Also see news on Twitter...

http://twitter.com/search?q=itunes%20hacked

SameOldStory · 07-04-2010, 03:15 PM

"The other half of this story has to do with a claimed rise in iTunes account hacking, with a number of people reporting up to hundreds of dollars being spent unwillingly from their account to these specific books."

So someone is hacking into iTunes to "buy" ebooks? I don't thing that Apple is going to keep this money.

Am I the only one that has a debit card just for internet purchases? I only keep 1 or 2 hundred in the account. More is added only when I'm about to make a bigger purchase. There is NO overdraft on this account.

The question is what customer info was taken.

vaughnmr · 07-04-2010, 03:19 PM

I'm seeing reports now that this is worldwide, and has been going on for over a week. There are multiple posts from people who are reporting resistance from Apple support on this, and they are having to deal directly with Paypal and their own banks. This involves the ebook section of itunes, I believe.

Moejoe · 07-04-2010, 03:26 PM

Uh-oh.

You see? You see what happens when....

Dellaster · 07-04-2010, 03:42 PM

Thanks for the warning post. It seems a bit unclear how much of danger this is but it certainly doesn't hurt to change the password. Which I did even though I have no recent purchases shown in my account.

My iTunes app was getting reset frequently as I did what I needed to do. I'm guessing the word has spread and Apple is getting hammered by legitimate users logging into their account this time, not hackers.

- Ted

Maggie Leung · 07-04-2010, 04:28 PM

As I mentioned on a duplicate thread: Don't we get e-mail receipts with each iTunes or iBook purchase? (Unless hackers change our e-mail addresses.)

I keep a separate credit card for online purchases, so I can easily track and shut down, as needed. I use a credit card, not a debit card, because most credit cards have fraud protection, and many debit cards don't.

vaughnmr · 07-04-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

As I mentioned on a duplicate thread: Don't we get e-mail receipts with each iTunes or iBook purchase? (Unless hackers change our e-mail addresses.)

I keep a separate credit card for online purchases, so I can easily track and shut down, as needed. I use a credit card, not a debit card, because most credit cards have fraud protection, and many debit cards don't.

I just read a post that said their email, user name, password, and password secret question were all changed. I don't know how widespread this is, but I'd definitely look into it if you are using the Apple app store. It all looks like legitimate news to me, but I'm not a part of the Apple world (I can't get into the ibook store).

Maggie Leung · 07-04-2010, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

I just read a post that said their email, user name, password, and password secret question were all changed. I don't know how widespread this is, but I'd definitely look into it if you are using the Apple app store. It all looks like legitimate news to me, but I'm not a part of the Apple world (I can't get into the ibook store).

Thanks.

Checked. Nothing funky with my account so far.

vaughnmr · 07-04-2010, 04:56 PM

Here's a Youtube video from a guy that said he heard about it, had no problem, he was secure, etc., then he gets a call from Wells Fargo, who said they had tons of accounts hacked... He was taken for $600. This was 2 hrs ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IEbVhi6lDs

Moejoe · 07-04-2010, 05:01 PM

This is the kind of hack that can destroy customer confidence for a long time. I don't believe this was done just for the money.

HarryT · 07-04-2010, 05:10 PM

Given that payment for apps and books isn't made instantly (it's a monthly payment by Apple to the developer/author), if there really have been fraudulent purchases made, all that's going to happen is that the money will be refunded - the hacker is extremely unlikely to actually get anything. Just goes to prove the old rule - never, EVER, use a password that's vulnerable to a dictionary attack.

vaughnmr · 07-04-2010, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given that payment for apps and books isn't made instantly (it's a monthly payment by Apple to the developer/author), if there really have been fraudulent purchases made, all that's going to happen is that the money will be refunded - the hacker is extremely unlikely to actually get anything. Just goes to prove the old rule - never, EVER, use a password that's vulnerable to a dictionary attack.

Yea, that guy in the youtube video was bragging about how secure his password was, yada-yada, right up to the point when the bank called him about the fraudulent charges on his iTunes account...

steph_g · 07-04-2010, 05:21 PM

Just changed my password and removed CC info from iTunes. I have about $80 credit on my account which I would hate to lose. I hope this is enough! So far no suspicious activity.

vaughnmr · 07-04-2010, 05:31 PM

Here's info from another tech site:

"What used to be a sole developer hacking iTunes accounts has now sprung into 2 or more developer slash hackers. Thuat Nguyen began hacking accounts to buy his apps numerous times as evidenced by the image above.

Reports are coming in that fraud charges amount anywhere from $100 to above $600. Note that this isn’t AppStore country centralized as users from outside the US are also reporting the incident.

How To Protect Your Account

1.Login to iTunes
2.Change your password to alphanumeric and preferably something above 10 characters
3.Go to My Account > Edit Payment Information
4.Set payment option to NONE

If You’ve Been Hacked Already

1.Email support@iTunes.com
2.Try and recover your password: http://iForgot.Apple.com

I suggest you do the following steps immediately as if you wait around, fireworks aren’t the only ones lighting up tonight."

I personally don't use Apple products, so I can't verify the soundness of his recommendations. I'm hearing that Bank of America and Wells Fargo are reporting the fraud so far.

07-04-2010, 03:06 PM	#1
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	Massive hacking of iTunes accounts happening right now! Someone is evidently hacking the iTunes accounts at this time, and many, many people have reported having anywhere from $100 to $600 stolen from their credit or debit cards. You would be advised to immediately check your account and change password if you are an itunes member! see Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/04/i...onnected-to-i/ Also: http://www.indepthwithtech.com/news/...re-hacked.html More: http://www.macstories.net/news/itune...ese-developer/ Also reported elsewhere, but Apple is not saying anything at this time... Last edited by vaughnmr; 07-04-2010 at 03:29 PM.

07-04-2010, 05:21 PM	#14
steph_g Book Lover Posts: 74 Karma: 124 Join Date: May 2010 Device: iPad, iPhone 3GS	Hope this is enough Just changed my password and removed CC info from iTunes. I have about $80 credit on my account which I would hate to lose. I hope this is enough! So far no suspicious activity.

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07-04-2010, 03:08 PM	#2
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	Also see news on Twitter... http://twitter.com/search?q=itunes%20hacked

07-04-2010, 03:15 PM	#3
SameOldStory My True Self Posts: 3,126 Karma: 66242098 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor, Galactic Center Device: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	"The other half of this story has to do with a claimed rise in iTunes account hacking, with a number of people reporting up to hundreds of dollars being spent unwillingly from their account to these specific books." So someone is hacking into iTunes to "buy" ebooks? I don't thing that Apple is going to keep this money. Am I the only one that has a debit card just for internet purchases? I only keep 1 or 2 hundred in the account. More is added only when I'm about to make a bigger purchase. There is NO overdraft on this account. The question is what customer info was taken.

07-04-2010, 03:19 PM	#4
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	I'm seeing reports now that this is worldwide, and has been going on for over a week. There are multiple posts from people who are reporting resistance from Apple support on this, and they are having to deal directly with Paypal and their own banks. This involves the ebook section of itunes, I believe.

07-04-2010, 03:26 PM	#5
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	Uh-oh. You see? You see what happens when....

07-04-2010, 03:42 PM	#6
Dellaster 本の虫 Posts: 242 Karma: 344 Join Date: May 2008 Location: USA Device: Kindle3, DXG, Fire · iPad, iPod	Thanks for the warning post. It seems a bit unclear how much of danger this is but it certainly doesn't hurt to change the password. Which I did even though I have no recent purchases shown in my account. My iTunes app was getting reset frequently as I did what I needed to do. I'm guessing the word has spread and Apple is getting hammered by legitimate users logging into their account this time, not hackers. - Ted

07-04-2010, 04:28 PM	#7
Maggie Leung Wizard Posts: 1,449 Karma: 58383 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle, iPad	As I mentioned on a duplicate thread: Don't we get e-mail receipts with each iTunes or iBook purchase? (Unless hackers change our e-mail addresses.) I keep a separate credit card for online purchases, so I can easily track and shut down, as needed. I use a credit card, not a debit card, because most credit cards have fraud protection, and many debit cards don't.

07-04-2010, 04:56 PM	#10
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	Here's a Youtube video from a guy that said he heard about it, had no problem, he was secure, etc., then he gets a call from Wells Fargo, who said they had tons of accounts hacked... He was taken for $600. This was 2 hrs ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IEbVhi6lDs

07-04-2010, 05:01 PM	#11
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	This is the kind of hack that can destroy customer confidence for a long time. I don't believe this was done just for the money.

07-04-2010, 05:10 PM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Given that payment for apps and books isn't made instantly (it's a monthly payment by Apple to the developer/author), if there really have been fraudulent purchases made, all that's going to happen is that the money will be refunded - the hacker is extremely unlikely to actually get anything. Just goes to prove the old rule - never, EVER, use a password that's vulnerable to a dictionary attack.

07-04-2010, 05:31 PM	#15
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	Here's info from another tech site: "What used to be a sole developer hacking iTunes accounts has now sprung into 2 or more developer slash hackers. Thuat Nguyen began hacking accounts to buy his apps numerous times as evidenced by the image above. Reports are coming in that fraud charges amount anywhere from $100 to above $600. Note that this isn’t AppStore country centralized as users from outside the US are also reporting the incident. How To Protect Your Account 1.Login to iTunes 2.Change your password to alphanumeric and preferably something above 10 characters 3.Go to My Account > Edit Payment Information 4.Set payment option to NONE If You’ve Been Hacked Already 1.Email support@iTunes.com 2.Try and recover your password: http://iForgot.Apple.com I suggest you do the following steps immediately as if you wait around, fireworks aren’t the only ones lighting up tonight." I personally don't use Apple products, so I can't verify the soundness of his recommendations. I'm hearing that Bank of America and Wells Fargo are reporting the fraud so far.

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