Chinese hackers selling $200 iTunes vouchers for $2.60
Chinese hackers have cracked the codes used for iTunes Store vouchers using key-generators, and as a result are selling $200 voucher codes for as little as $2.60 online. That’s according to a report on the blog of Chinese music industry consultancy Outdustry.
It points out that thousands of these hacked vouchers are for sale on Chinese online shopping site Taobao, where users are paying the hackers to generate codes for them to sell.
Apparently six months ago, a $200 card went for around 320 RMB (roughly $47), but the price has since plummeted to around 18 RMB ($2.60) as more sellers pile in. “But we make more money as the amount of customers is growing rapidly,” one tells Outdustry.
As Apple reportedly prepares to launch its iPhone in China, the news is sure to cause concern within the company – especially if these hacked voucher codes start being sold in the West too.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I think those codes are pretty useless since the serial number of the gift card needs to be activated through a apple trusted database. Every merchant who sells iTunes cards (electronically or in-store) has a connection to one of those databases and requests the activation of the serial number (That’s the reason why you sometimes see the cashier typing the number of the gift card into the system).
I don’t doubt that the algorithm is hacked but the next step would be that those hackers found a way to activate the serial numbers through a trusted database. I believe that Apple has a list of all generated serial numbers. Even the hackers got access to a trusted database gateway– the database will try to match the serial number with one on the list. Since they creating random serial numbers it would take forever to match a “real” serial number.
I only heard that they hacked the code but are they any reports that people successfully activated a “fake” serial number?
Summary: It’s a scam!
March 10th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
A lot of those ‘hacked’ iTMS voucher code are actually real code purchased with stolen credit cards. So yes they can be activated, but they may cancel it when the CC company discovered the fraud and cancel the transactions.
March 10th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
i just tried to buy one..
you need a chinese bank account.FML
March 11th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Sounds a lot like a great way to start up a new version of the original Ponzi scheme. Only instead of International Postal Reply Coupons, it will be fraudulant iTunes Music Store gift cards.
March 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
i have purchased some codes from a chnese guy in japan and the code work and i also called apple to confirm and they say that the code was good and to reedem it in the itunes store. how they do it i dont know but they work.
March 16th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
hey rick, i like some codes too, can you tell me where i can find it?
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