To steal money and boost rankings, scammers used Apple App Store hack

An app farm infestation is being battled by Apple App Store users. The App Store is being hacked by Apple App scammers who hack iTunes accounts to make purchases of some bogus apps. The hacks steal money from iTunes accounts and boost the App Store rankings of these apps.

Source for this article: Scammers use Apple App Store hack to steal money, boost rankings by Personal Money Store

App store cover blown by greedy scammers

The App Store scam may have gone undetected longer if not for a thieving app farm developer known as Thuat Nguyen. Nguyen got too greedy and 40 of his apps in the books category showed up in the top 50 App Store rankings. Other app developers smelled something wrong and Apple pulled the Thuat Nguyen apps. Thousands of dollars were stolen by Nguyen and other App Store scammers, who are still active.

Compromised were the app store rankings

News about the App Store scam broke when thenextweb.com reported that Thuat Nguyen had hacked some iTunes accounts and purchased his own apps using those accounts. When their popular titles were displaced within the App Store rankings by Nguyen apps, two iPhone app developers sounded the alarm. Numerous iTunes accounts were hacked to purchase apps. On their accounts, many had spent between $ 100 and $ 1400. All iTunes users should check their accounts for stealth purchases of cheap apps (around $ 1-$ 3) followed by one at an outrageous price (around $ 90 ). Thenextweb.com said hackers are also signing users up for a free app called World War that sends their money to scammer accounts.

From app store scam, protect yourself

To verify that you’ve or have not become a victim of the App Store scam, it is easy to check the security of your own iTunes account.

PCWorld gives this procedure:

Click on your account name on the right hand side of the iTunes menu bar. After entering your password, click on the View Account button. You’ll be taken to the Apple Account Details page where you are able to view your purchase history. From there, you are able to make sure that all your app purchases are ones that you’ve made. If you spot an app you didn’t purchase among your recent purchases, click the Report a Problem button. To safeguard against a compromised password, you are able to click on Edit Account Info to change it. Longer passwords containing numbers and special characters are harder for hackers to crack.

App farms continue to scam

The Apple App store scam isn't done yet. Betanews.com reports that at least two other scam developers are using comparable practices. Charismaist is somebody you need to avoid 3 apps from. One Charismaist app is an apparent sonic mosquito repellent that has scammed users out of as much as $ 100, despite the fact that it is marked as free. Storm 8’s App Store scam involves in-game point purchases costing as much as $ 150. One iTunes user reported up to $ 1,400 in bogus charges from a Storm 8 game. Charismaist and Storm 8 are both nevertheless in the App store.

Details of the app store scam

The Apple App Store scam is used primarily make bogus purchases that elevate the apps within the iTunes ranking so users can be attracted to the apps based on their high sales. Look out of low res images from the web. The scammers’ support links direct users to non-existent sites or landing pages. As outlined by the Next Web, all the bogus apps are owned by unknown, Asia-based developers. Over the last four weeks, the app scam has been happening.

More information about this topic at these websites:

thenextweb.com

thenextweb.com/apple/2010/07/04/app-store-hacked/comment-page-1/#comment-11929

PC World

pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/200503/apps_disappear_from_app_store_amid_hacking_complaints.html

betanews.com

betanews.com/article/Apple-still-silent-as-more-scams-are-found-on-App-Store/1278363193