Did you know Apple Settles iTunes Gift Card Scam Lawsuit With $1.8 Million Payout
iPhone maker Apple has opted to settle a major class action lawsuit that accused the company of gaining benefits through iTunes gift card scams.
The Cupertino firm will reportedly draft a $1.8 million
payment after it was alleged that the firm was well aware of scammers
exploiting gift cards owned by the company, with the tech giant keeping a
huge chunk of the stolen revenue for itself.
The scam was
reported to involve fraud experts who opted to instill worry and a sense
of urgency among users through the phone that they needed to purchase
the iTunes gift cards if they wished to pay off taxes. The same was the
case for gift cards related to the Apple Store.
The money would also be used to cover debts, hospital bills, or charges linked to utilities.
Victims
were informed about sharing codes on the card’s back, despite warnings
generated across cards that requested them not to share codes with any
other person they knew.
As per the complaint lodged in this
manner, the iPhone maker was seen depositing just 70% of the funds
stolen into the account owned by the fraudster while the iPhone maker
kept its 30% share as a means of commission, knowing very well how those
were dollars generated by stolen code conversion.
The legal case was said to cover all US citizens who purchased gift
cards during the 2015 to 2020 period where the products could be traded
in at any of Apple’s App or iTunes stores, followed by the provision of
codes to fraudsters, and then a lack of funds received from the company
despite following all the steps they had outlined.
The plaintiffs
were recorded speaking about how they didn’t get any proceeds.
Meanwhile, the Judge heading the case ruled how the company failed in
terms of giving out proper returns to the victims.
The decision
mentioned how Apple benefitted from the scam and knew very well what it
was getting into. Therefore, it can determine which accounts were
scammed and which ones redeemed them. Despite this, it was noted as
saying that there was nothing it could do which was not true.
This
is just one of the prime examples of how sophisticated scams involving
tech giant Apple are growing as we speak. Another one had to do with
users designing apps through the App Store and then utilizing gift cards
to buy certain products through apps they could control. Watching how
Apple allows all of this to take place and even benefits from a 30%
commission just goes to show how ignorant the firm has become and
therefore it must be brought to justice, the plaintiffs argued.
Further
arguments on the case involved how the company has full access to gift
card codes that were stolen, especially when an alert is generated for
theft. And that should stop any purchases from getting through or
deactivating suspicious activity on accounts through the app. They
similarly mentioned how all the stolen cards need to be reimbursed to
put an end to the scam completely.
Seeing the court find Apple
guilty of knowingly participating in such scams is worrying and must be
addressed immediately and that’s why we’re seeing the tech giant
promptly draft out a settlement to close the lawsuit, once and for all.
After all, it’s not a great impression to know that one of the world’s most valuable firms has been taking part in scams, right?
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