“Apple products are some of the most expensive and desirable in tech so it makes sense that the company’s gift cards are proving an attractive currency for criminals,” Martyn Williams reports for IDG News Service.
“On Thursday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said it has indicted five people for using personal information stolen from around 200 people to fund the purchase of hundreds of thousands of dollars in Apple gift cards, which in turn were used to buy Apple products,” Williams reports. “The DA’s office alleges that Annie Vuong, a 27-year-old from the Bronx, stole the names, address, birth dates and social security numbers of patients at the Manhattan dental office where she worked.”
“That data was passed to Devin Bazile, a 30-year-old former Apple sales associate from the Bronx, who used it to apply for Apple ‘instant credit,’ the lawsuit alleges,” Williams reports. “The approval comes in the form of a barcode, which Bazile and associates are alleged to have shared with Apple Store employees recruited to help in the scheme. The employees worked at Apple Stores in Manhattan, White Plains and New Jersey and used the barcodes to purchase Apple gift cards.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]