Syber News

I wrote earlier that Chinese hackers had managed to crack the iTunes gift card algorithm, meaning that they could create fake gift cards with impunity. The problem for them is, there are so many hackers producing gift cards they can only get about $2 for a $200 card. Thus, they've had to come up with a new scheme.

The new scam, as reported to AppleInsider by the developers of TiltMeter Pro, uses the gift cards themselves, along with the assistance of a developer. The TiltMeter Pro developer was emailed the following:

"I've been taking a look into your application and have an offer to you. I have many itunes gift certificates for itunes usa , canada and uk to make purchases through the itunes store. I can buy your product as many times as you want and can share earnings 50 - 50."

Obviously, this leverages the fact that developers get 70% of the revenue generated by an application. Let's say you spend a $200 gift card on a series of purchases of an application. That would net the developer $140, of which he'd give $70 to the hacker.

That's a much better return for the hacker than $2.

I would assume most developers wouldn't agree to such a scam. Whether they do or not, Apple has to do something about the trafficking in iTunes gift cards, although it would be difficult to do so without affecting legitimate cards that might already have been sold.