Someone Hijacked my Apple Account

Hi,
This was in my inbox first thing this am:




Hello,

The following information for your Apple ID was updated on 09/15/2011:

Name
Shipping and/or billing address
Credit card

If these changes were made in error, or if you believe an unauthorized person accessed your account, please reset your account password immediately by going to iforgot.apple.com.

To review and update your security settings, sign in to appleid.apple.com.

This is an automated message. Please do not reply to this email. If you need additional help, visit Apple Support.

Thanks,
Apple Customer Support



A few minutes later came:


Dear Dorothy Pecson,

Your Apple ID was just used to download 明珠三国OL from the App Store on a computer or device that had not previously been associated with that Apple ID.

If you initiated this download, you can disregard this email. This email was sent as a safeguard designed to protect you against unauthorized activity.

If you did not initiate this download, we recommend that you go to iforgot.apple.com to change your password, then see Apple ID: Tips for protecting the security of your account for further assistance.

Regards,
Apple"


Finally came:

"尊敬的PecsonDorothy：

您的 Apple ID 刚刚在一台以前未与此 Apple ID 相关联的电脑或设备上从 App Store 购买了 明珠三国OL。

如果是您本人购买了此内容，您可以忽略此电子邮件。此邮件的目的是帮助您防范未授权购物。

如果购买此内容的不是您，建议您前往 iforgot.apple.com 更改您的密码，然后参阅 Apple ID：保护帐户安全性的提示 获取更多帮助。

谨上
Apple"

So I changed the credit card immediately; changed all my email passwords; called APPLE and was told to contact iTunes - who only does email and may respond "within 24 hours"!

Help!

Any other suggestions?

Dot

PS - I repeat, HELP!!

Any idea how someone breached your account?

Have you replaced your passwords with strong ones? (You can google "strong password" for guidelines, if you're not sure.)

Have you checked with your credit card for possible fraudulent charges? Fraudsters often try "test" charges of a dollar or two, to see whether they can use an account, then they pile on charges. Always check your credit card account for such charges and raise a red flag if any charge looks unfamiliar. I also confine my online purchases to one card, to more easily isolate problems if they arise. If you find fraudulent charges, you might consider having your cc company issue you a replacement cc number.

Last week, I wiped out my credit card info from my iTunes account and switched to gift cards, after reading about what seemed like an uptick in iTunes fraud. I figure that gives me one less possible hassle to deal with. You might want to consider gift cards as well.

I also don't buy content only from Apple (or any other single source), and I back up everything. If my iTunes account were suddenly locked up during a fraud investigation, I'd have plenty of content I could still access.

I pay for everything on an itunes gift card. It limits any possible loss. Because I can easily check the balance it keeps me from buying stuff that I'll don't really need. And it's a simple gift if someone does not know what to get you.

I had this happen a few months ago, Apple have tried, but have been unable to help me work out how it happened. It seems to be a trend with those using gift cards, I did manage to get my money back though, although it took a few weeks!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Avionyx

I had this happen a few months ago, Apple have tried, but have been unable to help me work out how it happened. It seems to be a trend with those using gift cards, I did manage to get my money back though, although it took a few weeks!

---

My gift card has 10 bucks on it. A fraudster can go nuts with it, lol. I have other gift cards I can use, but I'm adding them only as needed.

With a gift card, there's a limit, determined by me, on how much can be spent. With a credit card, I can imagine a much bigger mess to clean up.