Leading US tech giant Apple has agreed to a financial settlement in a fraud case against it. Faced with accusations that the company allowed iTunes gift card fraudsters to exploit the situation, Apple is settling the lawsuit.
According to a filing in federal court in San Jose, California, on Wednesday, Apple and the plaintiffs agreed on the terms of a financial settlement after working with a mediator.
They are drafting a formal agreement to be submitted to US District Judge Edward Davila for preliminary approval.
they panic-induced you into buying an iTUNES gift card
Scammers traditionally use panic-inducing methods to instill panic or urgency by insisting over the phone that victims purchase App Store and iTunes gift cards or Apple Store gift cards to pay taxes, hospital and utility bills, bail and debt collection.
Despite a warning on the cards that reads "Do not share your code with anyone you don't know," the panicked victims are told to share the codes on the back of the cards and their money is taken.
APPLE ALLEGEDLY TAKES COMMISSION FROM SCAMMERS
According to the complaint in the lawsuit, Apple deposited only 70% of the stolen funds into the fraudsters' bank accounts and kept 30% for itself as a "commission" for knowingly converting the stolen codes into dollars.
Victims likely lost "hundreds of millions of dollars" in the scam, the complaint said.
The case involved anyone in the United States who purchased gift cards redeemable in iTunes or the App Store from 2015 through July 31, 2020, provided codes to fraudsters, and did not receive a refund from Apple.
