Jan Zdarsa Reports are spreading across the Internet that App Store (iTunes) accounts have been hacked. There have been several people who were bought by a stranger through their account. It is therefore recommended to change the account password to be safe. But is it really necessary? What happened?
In the book category, books by developer Thuat Nguyen started appearing among the best-selling titles out of nowhere. It is this developer who is suspected of having somehow managed to obtain passwords to App Store (iTunes) accounts and in this way probably wanted to transfer money to his account.
But this developer is not the only one who would be suspicious of these transactions. We also have the same suspicions about several other App Store developers in other categories (although it could still be the same person). One theory is that affected users used passwords that were too easy. This is how accounts are stolen quite normally, it is nothing exceptional.
Another theory is that the developer had an app in the App Store that stole these account accesses. If you downloaded the app from the developer and entered your email and password, the developer could easily check if you have the same email and password in your App Store account. And if so, then your account has been "hacked".
So it's still not at all clear how he managed to gain access to the accounts and how much of the users are affected, but in general I recommend that everyone change their passwords. You do this by going to the iTunes Store with desktop iTunes and clicking on Account in the upper right corner. Then select Edit account info. And don't forget, you should at least use a password different from the ones you use regularly for important accounts. But in general, I don't assume that someone hacked millions of iTunes accounts around the world and everyone was affected.
You can also remove your payment card from your account until there is an official statement from Apple as to what actually happened. In any case, if you change your password and do not choose None as your payment card, the test payment will be deducted from your account again (roughly CZK 40-50, this amount will be returned to your account after a few days).
If you use a universal password across the entire Internet and applications, you always run the risk of someone paying you for third-party applications from your account. Apple has now removed all apps from the suspected developer. But if someone requests a refund, Apple will return it to your account (although it has not officially announced it). But changing your password will be easier.
Hi, I know this is a bit offtopic.
I have an iTunes account without a card, so I only "buy" free apps.
But since May 19, invoices from Apple stopped going to my email, and since then I keep "buying" more and more free applications.
Does anyone have the same problem?
Díky
This is normal, invoices only go to paid applications ;).
I don't know how to whom, but Apple has been blocking my money for several weeks, maybe it's the bank. Fortunately, it's a ridiculous amount of €2, so you can live with it.