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Massachusetts Attorney General, Victim of iTunes Fraud
chicksdaddy writes "Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said on Tuesday that her office would be inquiring into long-standing complaints about fraudulent purchases that leverage Apple's popular online music store. Coakley was herself a victim of identity theft in recent months, telling the audience that her stolen credit card information was used to make fraudulent iTunes purchases. When asked (by a Threatpost reporter) about whether such fraud constitutes a reportable event under the Bay State's strict data breach notification law, 201 CMR 17, Coakley said that her office would be looking into that question and demanding answers from Cupertino, which has steadfastly refused to respond to media requests regarding user reports about fraudulent iTunes purchases, and which has not reported the breaches to Massachusetts regulators."
Only now that she was affected does she look into it. It didn't matter that everyone else was.
Attack the Attornies General so they realise how the real world works and kick up enough stink to get the laws we need.
Is 1563649 a prime number?
She should post the password she used so we can tell if it was likely to be a brute force type attack.
Kids these days. I blame the parents.
Some day she is going to find herself wishing that she just admitted to her IT guy that she likes the Jonas Brothers and downloaded those tracks herself rather than letting this fraud story spiral out of control.
. . .she will use her uncommon influence to resolve her own problem and thus conclude that the legal system works "as-is".
Just in time for the Mac Book Pro 2 next month. Man you really lucked out.
I could see, if her identity was stolen from the records that apple has, how the new laws would apply to Apple. But her identity was stolen from elsewhere and then her credit card used to purchase stuff from Apple. I can't really see how Apple has anything to do with it. Would you go after Shell if someone used a stolen card to buy some gas?
Sure, dell stopped the purchase of a multi hundred dollar computer, but should Apple have to check ever 99 cent transaction? I don't even have to sign receipts most places if the total is under 20 bucks. If she canceled the card, isn't that her banks fault?
The data breach laws seem like a good thing, its important that Apple and others protect information about their customers against theft, but her identity was stolen during a ski trip to New Hampshire. That doesn't seem like it has anything to do at all with Apple or iTunes.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
that really stretches things.. really, if you don't have anything original to troll about, maybe give it rest?
CS majors know the time/space tradeoff, but they never get taught the 3rd, crucial, tradeoff of the set: comprehension!
She's not supposed to take it into the shower, no matter what the pop-up says when the little green light above the screen comes on.
Apple maintain the position that it is end users that are being compromised, and not their servers - so why should they need to report anything if there is no evidence to the contrary?
...her stolen credit card information was used to make fraudulent iTunes purchases. When asked (by Threatpost) about whether such fraud constitutes a reportable event under the Bay State's strict data breach notification law, Coakley said that her office would be looking into that question and demanding answers from Cupertino,...
Huh? How is this a 'breach' by Apple? Her credit card was stolen by somebody, and then used to buy something from iTunes. Apple wasn't hacked into; they processed what looked to be a valid credit card transaction.
Apple is security! By the way, my daughter's Mac Book Pro stopped working yesterday after four months. Not bad for a $1700 computer.
She's probably holding it wrong.
All there is to do in Heaven is write hymns. Angels are pretty good, believe it or not. Retards don't know why Greeks said "muse".
The problem for apple is that because it has become such a popular provider of these services, at some point some powerful people get the same problems as everyone else, and then it's a problem. But no matter how politically incorrect that may be, it's is plain stupid of Apple to be totally ignorant on Murphy's law. That lawyer might just know how to peel an Apple... And if he doesn't then someone else might. So let's all wait for the inevitable. I think this whole Itunes problem is clearly something Apple finds hard to fix, otherwise it would be fixed already.
So the A.G. herself is credited for "telling the audience that her stolen credit card information was used to make fraudulent iTunes purchases. So that seems completely different than if she had an iTunes account that had been hacked, as is the commonly reported problem that Apple avoids talking about. In her case it seems like she had here credit card info stolen and the thieves happened to use the stolen cards to create an iTunes account (and likely other things). and her problem needs to be resolved by dealing with her credit card provider, not Apple.
As I understand it, state attorneys general have no influence over U.S. copyright, which is exclusively a federal issue.
The reporter posed a non-sequitur question, to which the AG provided a boilerplate "uh, we'll probably be looking in to that" response.
There's no company on the planet that can guarantee they have a 0% mortality rate within the warranty period of something as complex as a modern laptop. That's why there's a warranty.
If you're aware of one that guarantees anything above and beyond replacement in the off chance you happen to be in the unlucky 1%, I'd love to know who it is.
This
and apologists are out early.
"Informed of the well documented pattern of fraud through iTunes, in which stolen credit cards or bogus iTunes gift cards are matched with compromised iTunes accounts and used to purchase merchandise, Coakley said she wasn't aware of the larger pattern, but that it could be a reportable offense under the State's data privacy law. She promised her office would be contacting Apple for more information that very afternoon - a statement that received hearty applause from the audience."
Apple is being compromised, Apple hasn't reported as required.
Apple seems to be in the wrong here in that the have violated MA privacy laws.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
She's not supposed to take it into the shower, no matter what the pop-up says when the little green light above the screen comes on.
I see what you did there. Trevor Harwell reference. Clever.
Bow before me, for I am root.
My MBP is doing fine going on 5.5 years old now (as my primary computer). Anecdotal evidence is fun.
Well then, good thing it comes with a free 12 month warranty. But oh no, whine about it on the internet instead. Asshole.
And even I think this is stupid sensationalism. She got her credit card stolen during a ski trip, how the hell is that Apple's fault? She should have canceled it and issued a chargeback. Apple doesn't even come into play.
There are plenty of things Apple does wrong, but this is not one of them.
To quote Steve Jobs "You're holding it wrong".
There is a warranty because there are consumer protection laws requiring that there be one.
Mine still works after 500 years of use in sandstorms, acid rain and even deep space! Highly-recommended for time travellers. I'm hoping the next model is more Dalek-resistant though.
Extra Dalek resistance is part of the 3-year AppleCare Extension.
I bet you wish you'd bought that now.
it comes with a free 12 month warranty. But oh no, whine about it on the internet instead. Asshole.
I'm not whining - it's not my computer. I build my own systems and they are rock solid. As for my daughter, well, she's 20 and can deal with the consequences of her decisions.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Yeah. Who buys their daughter a $1,700 computer when a $400 one will more than suffice?
ha, that's comical. So wait wait... your systems are rock solid, so you build your own laptops do you? You mean to tell me that if you bought RAM from a company and that RAM was faulty, some how, SOME how your system wouldn't be effected, because you build rock solid systems, some how RAM becomes magical in your hands and becomes fail proof, SOME how you can assure 100% that nothing in your machines will ever fail? Oh wait wait, YOU must design and build your own memory. Shut the fuck up, she''ll take laptop back to the shop and get it replaced under warranty, like any normal human being does, be it an Apple, Sony, Dell or whatever. You on the other hand, make dumb remarks about your kid "dealing with her consequences", wow you're an ass.
Er no, I have a desktop. I only use my laptop when I travel which is not often. I haven't had a bad RAM chip in years - I research the companies I buy from. Your argument is pathetic. You must be an Apple user.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
No matter what the pop-up says?
Yeah, here's my anecdotal evidence too!
My Mac Mini G4 has been running almost non-stop since 2005 when it replaced my K6-2 - 500. The Mini remained my primary computer until I bought a 24" iMac after the spring 2009 refresh. The Mini is whisper quiet (so is the iMac) and is currently sitting in the other room churning out work units for Rosetta@home and the World Community Grid, two distributed computing projects that strive to find cures for various diseases and model different energy and water usage patters.
Sure its slow, it can only churn out a work unit every 10-12 hours or so, but considering that the Mini doesn't use much power and would otherwise sit there doing nothing I figured I might as well use it for a good purpose. What impressed me about the Mini is that outside of power failures the machine has practically never been turned off, has been run pretty much full out the whole time and yet still keeps going. Say what you will about Apple, but their build quality is excellent and they make computers that can continue to be used long after most others would be relegated to the trash bin.
The issue really isn't about Apple (from what I can tell) Really the issue is how bad this law is.
From TFA:
"the unauthorized acquisition or unauthorized use of unencrypted data or, encrypted electronic data" that creates a "substantial risk of identity theft or fraud against a resident of the commonwealth"
So it sounds like, if someone steals a credit card. Then uses it to purchase an item from a store. The store is supposed to report this "unauthorized use." How is the store supposed to know the transaction is not authorized?
Seems like a pretty dumb law to me.
Uh, cite, please. I don't believe you're correct. The Magnuson-Moss warranty act simply says that if there is a warranty, the terms have to be clear. There are lots of things sold "as-is."
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
No wonder there's something wrong with her computer - with you helping her... or she gave it a coffee shampoo but won't admit it.
Which makes her different than Republicans how?
In the actual complaint, the details were retrieved from a compromised iTunes account, not a ski trip.
You may be considering a different person.
Hey now, don't cut yourself short here. It's not the research it's your magic powers that somehow enable you to bless HDD's to give them a 100% never fail rate. It's either that, or your "research" managed to find you a company that will, 100% assure that they don't need a warranty because their products never, EVER fail so no warranty is needed. News flash dumb ass, sometimes even new things go wrong, that's why we have warranties and companies don't employ you to sit at the end of their manufacture line, blessing hard disks with your magical powers.
Why would anyone steal credit card details, and then use them to buy mp3s? It boggles the mind, given that mp3s are so much easier to steal and harder to trace. It would lead me to a conspiracy theory if it weren't for the fact that I really don't care enough about the issue to waste my time thinking one up.
This story lets me in on some idea...It would be cool if a big official judge or senator were to have some illegal copyright music on their machine and get nabbed by the RIAA, and wanting to make an example of them just like they did that grandmother, and let that judge or senator be the victim of the RIAA's witch hunt, and bring about change to their practices....the latest I saw was a guy being charged 600k for songs....until it happens to an official, they do what they want...guaranteed that a judge or senator would put them in their place, and set a precedent.
Same as this story, I am sure it is getting all this attention only because of who was victimized, but put some grandmother who gets her account hacked and identity stolen, bah...who cares... I hope this case leads to setting better laws to protect the people over all, instead of just the big time officials.
In other news, a stolen credit card was used to buy a new car today. The car dealer is under investigation for allowing it to happen...
If I used a sig over again, would anyone notice?
Yeah I've got a Mini G4 for a web host and a Power Mac G4 serving up files. My work laptop is an almost four year old MacBook Pro. Unfortunately my experience with more recently Apple hardware has been less than stellar.