Apple App Store users are battling an app farm infestation. 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 increase the App Store rankings of the bogus apps.
Resource for this article: Scammers use Apple App Store hack to steal money, boost rankings by Personal Money Store
Greedy scammers blow up the App store cover
The App Store scam probably would 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 within the books category showed up within the top 50 App Store rankings. Other app developers knew something was wrong and Apple pulled the Thuat Nguyen apps. Thousands of dollars are stolen by Nguyen and some of the other App Store scammers, who are still active.
Compromised were the rankings of the app store
News about the App Store scam broke when thenextweb.com reported that Thuat Nguyen hacked iTunes accounts and purchased numerous of his own apps using those accounts. When their popular titles were displaced in the App Store rankings by Nguyen apps, two iPhone app developers sounded the alarm. To purchase apps, numerous iTunes accounts were hacked. Some iTunes users had between $ 100 and $ 1400 spent on their accounts. 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.
Make an effort to protect yourself from the App store scam
To verify that you’ve or have not become a victim of the App Store scam, it’s 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 Information page where you’re 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.
Scamming still is the app farms
The Apple App Store scam has yet to be eliminated. At least two other scammers are using similar practices according to Betanews.com. Stay from three apps by Charismaist. One Charismaist app is an apparent sonic mosquito repellent that has scammed users out of $ 100 at probably the most, despite the fact that it is marked as free. Storm 8’s App Store scam has in-game point purchases costing as much as $ 150. One iTunes user reported about $ 1,400 in bogus charges from a Storm 8 game. Both Charismaist and Storm 8 are still present in the App Store.
More information from the app store scam
The Apple App Store scam is used to make bogus purchases that elevate the apps within the iTunes ranking so users will be attracted to the apps based on their high sales. Be on the lookout for app icons that are 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.
Discover more about this topic here:
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
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