Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

dasx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
Hey there.
I received two emails from Apple today.
First one said two things had been changed in my Apple ID. One was my name, the other one my credit card number.
Second mail said I had purchased some gift in the Apple Store or something.

And well… I haven't done neither of those.

First assumption was someone had hacked my account so went here and logged in. Password was the same so pretty weird. Changed it anyways.
(Also noticed my name hadn't changed at all, at least not that I can recall).

I then went to the App Store in the Mac and checked the credit card number. Can't see the whole thing, but last 4 digits are different than the ones I used to have. Checked all my credit cards and none of them ends with those numbers.

I then got my iPhone and checked recently purchased apps. There seem to be two of them available now to download that I haven't purchased. Two FREE games.

So… any ideas what might've happened here?

If this had been a hack the "hacker" would've downloaded some payment apps, right? He would've also changed the password and mainly, he wouldn't have put his own credit card into my account.

So… again… what the f-ck did happen here?


Thanks a lot if anyone comes with a reasonable explanation.

P.S: I've already considered:
1. Me being a sleepwalker which I highly doubt as I've never been one and I don't have the gift to make up credit card numbers with expiring dates and security numbers that actually match up and let me buy stuff.
2. Some random person entering my account by mistake. What are the odds of the guy guessing the password? (And no, wasn't an easy one, not at all)
 
Last edited:

dasx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
Just noticed something else.
I had a credit of €20 left in my Apple ID from a €80 gift card that I was given when I bought a Mac this last June. It is gone now.
 

iDuel

macrumors 6502a
Jul 20, 2011
775
97
Greece/USA
I would most definitely contact ITunes support and let them know so that they can take the necessary steps to secure your account.
 

dasx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
I would most definitely contact ITunes support and let them know so that they can take the necessary steps to secure your account.

Is that through Apple Care? Or do they have their own number?
 

dasx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
OK, after googleing a lot I think I might've found a plausible explanation.

1. Somehow someone managed to hack my account (as I said I didn't have an easy password).
2. He then logged in with it in a new device (Mac or iDevice), but couldn't buy anything because when you do that they ask for the security code of the card. (I think…)
3. So he put a credit card of his, probably one from an empty account registered to a fake name or whatever.
4. He was then able to do a purchase, but iTunes checked and saw I got credit on the account (those €20) and charged me from there. That's why it's gone.

I guess my questions now are:
How did he manage to hack my account?
How did he know I had credit in it?

iTunes invoices usually take 1 to 2 days to arrive to my mail (at least in my case) so I guess I won't be able to see what this SOAB bought until then.

I'll call Apple first time in the morning tomorrow (10.30 pm here right now) and I hope:
1. They tell me my account is secure now.
2. They give me my money back, lol
 

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
5,503
91
An Island in the Salish Sea
I have not direct experience with Apple - but if they are like Mastercard, call the AppleCare number and tell the tech you think your account has been hacked. Use the words "Hack" and "Fraud". Describing the situation may not be enough... They may need to hear those words to escalate the case. Think of some other synonyms to "Fraud" and use those words too, until the tech either gives you the appropriate number or transfers you.

I spent a very frustrating 20 minutes MC describing how my card had been defrauded, but until I actually said the magic word "Fraud" I was getting no where. They may need to hear you say the magic word. It would be nice if they told you what that word was, too.

Good Luck getting it sorted... I'm sure you'll be fine.
 

iDuel

macrumors 6502a
Jul 20, 2011
775
97
Greece/USA
Is that through Apple Care? Or do they have their own number?
iTunes support is totally independent from AppleCare, so they will most likely tell you to get into contact with iTunes by email since they have no direct contact phone number.
 

saberahul

macrumors 68040
Nov 6, 2008
3,645
111
USA
OK, after googleing a lot I think I might've found a plausible explanation.

1. Somehow someone managed to hack my account (as I said I didn't have an easy password).
2. He then logged in with it in a new device (Mac or iDevice), but couldn't buy anything because when you do that they ask for the security code of the card. (I think…)
3. So he put a credit card of his, probably one from an empty account registered to a fake name or whatever.
4. He was then able to do a purchase, but iTunes checked and saw I got credit on the account (those €20) and charged me from there. That's why it's gone.

I guess my questions now are:
How did he manage to hack my account?
How did he know I had credit in it?

iTunes invoices usually take 1 to 2 days to arrive to my mail (at least in my case) so I guess I won't be able to see what this SOAB bought until then.

I'll call Apple first time in the morning tomorrow (10.30 pm here right now) and I hope:
1. They tell me my account is secure now.
2. They give me my money back, lol

1. Idk how he hacked in your account… brute force does not work these days but I'm sure he is more of an expert than I am… it doesn't really matter though as far it is not done again
2. He probably hacked multiple accounts and found yours with credit in it
 

dasx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
I have not direct experience with Apple - but if they are like Mastercard, call the AppleCare number and tell the tech you think your account has been hacked. Use the words "Hack" and "Fraud". Describing the situation may not be enough... They may need to hear those words to escalate the case. Think of some other synonyms to "Fraud" and use those words too, until the tech either gives you the appropriate number or transfers you.

I spent a very frustrating 20 minutes MC describing how my card had been defrauded, but until I actually said the magic word "Fraud" I was getting no where. They may need to hear you say the magic word. It would be nice if they told you what that word was, too.

Good Luck getting it sorted... I'm sure you'll be fine.

I've read that when talking to iTunes support they lock all iTunes accounts related to the CC you had registered in yours. I wonder how long it takes until they unlock your legit account.

I'm afraid I'm gonna need several days and a long wait to get this sorted out and completely fixed. :(

iTunes support is totally independent from AppleCare, so they will most likely tell you to get into contact with iTunes by email since they have no direct contact phone number.

Yup, read about it. I also read they're on holidays now so no support at all. Great. Just great.

I would put a credit freeze into effect in meantime as well

No need to. I use a special CC for internet purposes which has no credit at all and no links to any bank account. If I wanna buy something online with it, I need to recharge it with €100, €10 or whatever you want/need.

------------------------------------------

Thanks guys.
 

dasx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
For those coincidences of life a friend of mine's girlfriend is currently working at iTunes Support. :eek:

She told me this is a regular thing… well, not that regular but it happens more that one would expect.

I gotta contact them and tell them which where the unauthorized buys and they'll give me my money back. Also, the account will be suspended in order to re-activate it. (Me and only me).

She told me all this through whatsapp at 3am so I lack of some more details.

Will post in here as soon as this is fixed of how I proceeded.
 

dasx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
1,107
18
Barcelona
OK. Thing is supposed to be fixed now.

Did what my friend told me to and sent email to iTunes Support. Apparently the chief took care of my case, I guess due to the hacking part.

I asked not to get my account suspended and he complied. He told me to go and change my password straight away if I still hadn't. (I had though).

The assumed hacker had purchased 1600 gems for Kingdoms of Camelot or something like that at a price of €89.99. €20 of those were taken from my credit and the rest from a fund less CC he had previously introduced, so the other €69 were a debt on me.

They returned me my credit of €20 (which should be available in 24h) and the rest to that CC and then blocked it.

Everything should be back to normal now.

Wanna add that I'm pretty sure this hacker didn't know my password (15 character alpha-numeric password…) so I guess this has something to do with Apple's security.

At least the thing was solved pretty fast, I'll get my money back and I didn't lose any functionalities as my account was not suspended during the process.

I'd still pay to know how they did it and what they win by purchasing 1600 gems of that s.h.i.t.

Wanted to post how this worked out for if someone ever finds in my same situation.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.