Apple
has agreed to settle a lawsuit in the US. The lawsuit accuses the Cupertino-based tech giant of knowingly allowing scammers to exploit its gift cards and even keeping a part of the stolen funds.
According to a report by the news agency Reuters, Apple and the plaintiffs have worked with a mediator and have agreed on material settlement terms in a recent filing in federal court in San Jose, California.
The report claims that the parties that are involved in the lawsuit are drafting a formal settlement to be presented to
US district judge Edward Davila
for preliminary approval.
How scammers use Apple’s gift cards to trap users
In this scam, scammers insist their victims on the phone to buy App Store and
iTunes
gift cards or
Apple Store
gift cards to pay for taxes, hospital and utility bills, bail and debt collection. This way the fraudsters instill panic or urgency in their victims.
The scammers then ask the victims to share the codes which are there on the backs of the cards. However, it is important to note that these cards come with a warning that reads: "Do not share your code with anyone you do not know."
As per the lawsuit, Apple usually deposits only 70% of the stolen funds into the fraudsters' bank accounts and keeps 30% for itself as a "commission".
The lawsuit alleges that Apple “knowingly” allows scammers to convert stolen codes into dollars and claims that these victims have likely lost "hundreds of millions of dollars" in the scam.
The lawsuit will cover anyone in the United States who bought gift cards redeemable from iTunes or the App Store between 2015 and July 31, 2020.
To become eligible for the settlement claims users have to provide evidence of giving these codes to scammers as well as proof of not receiving refunds from Apple.
What the US judge said about the lawsuit
US judge Davila rejected Apple's bid to dismiss the lawsuit in June 2022. He said that the plaintiffs had sufficient evidence for proving how the company disclaimed liability, even after victims claimed they were scammed. The judge said that this response from Apple was “unconscionable.”
English (US) ·