Apple warning customers that App Store gift cards can't pay income taxes
Apple is now warning customers up front that iTunes gift cards, in fact, cannot be used to pay taxes as number of fraud calls ramp up.
New iTunes gift cards
An all-too-common scam involves an unsuspecting mark receiving a call from a unknown number -- sometimes spoofed as the IRS. Once the call is answered, a fraudster claiming to be from the aforementioned government agency informs the subject that they have unpaid taxes and must pay the balance, lest they be arrested.
One of the ways presented to the mark to settle up is the option to pay that balance by way of iTunes gift cards. They tell the mark to go to a local store, buy an iTunes gift card, then read the number to them over the phone. Needless to say, the legitimate IRS does not accept iTunes gift cards as a form of currency.
Yet the scam has continued to be rampant and it seems it has finally been enough of a concern for Apple to take action.
Now, when a customer attempts to purchase an iTunes gift card at the Apple Store, the employee will inform the shopper that iTunes gift cards cannot be used outside iTunes or the App Store, specifically as a method of paying taxes. Customers are then asked to accept this warning on the mobile POS system carried by employees before the purchase continues.
Apple now warns customers before they buy iTunes gift cards they can't be applied toward taxes
A closer look at the iTunes gift cards themselves shows a new warning line, printed in red. "Card cannot be used for payments outside of U.S. App Store or iTunes Store, including taxes," reads the text on the gift card packaging.
In the U.S., scam phone calls have continued to be on the rise, and little has been done to curb the issue. Apple itself has implemented some sort of safety precautions within the upcoming iOS 13 update that will automatically filter supposed spam call and send them straight to voicemail, though that doesn't stop the calls from coming in the first place.
Recently, some traction has been gained in the fight against these calls. A new bi-partisan "Stop Bad Robocalls" bill has seen support in the U.S. House.
New iTunes gift cards
An all-too-common scam involves an unsuspecting mark receiving a call from a unknown number -- sometimes spoofed as the IRS. Once the call is answered, a fraudster claiming to be from the aforementioned government agency informs the subject that they have unpaid taxes and must pay the balance, lest they be arrested.
One of the ways presented to the mark to settle up is the option to pay that balance by way of iTunes gift cards. They tell the mark to go to a local store, buy an iTunes gift card, then read the number to them over the phone. Needless to say, the legitimate IRS does not accept iTunes gift cards as a form of currency.
Yet the scam has continued to be rampant and it seems it has finally been enough of a concern for Apple to take action.
Now, when a customer attempts to purchase an iTunes gift card at the Apple Store, the employee will inform the shopper that iTunes gift cards cannot be used outside iTunes or the App Store, specifically as a method of paying taxes. Customers are then asked to accept this warning on the mobile POS system carried by employees before the purchase continues.
Apple now warns customers before they buy iTunes gift cards they can't be applied toward taxes
A closer look at the iTunes gift cards themselves shows a new warning line, printed in red. "Card cannot be used for payments outside of U.S. App Store or iTunes Store, including taxes," reads the text on the gift card packaging.
In the U.S., scam phone calls have continued to be on the rise, and little has been done to curb the issue. Apple itself has implemented some sort of safety precautions within the upcoming iOS 13 update that will automatically filter supposed spam call and send them straight to voicemail, though that doesn't stop the calls from coming in the first place.
Recently, some traction has been gained in the fight against these calls. A new bi-partisan "Stop Bad Robocalls" bill has seen support in the U.S. House.
Comments
/s
The result of nothing more than a phone call, no paperwork, nothing.
1. Ground level falls
2. Vascular disease
3. Motor vehicle accidents
4. Malignancy
5. Scams due to technological illiteracy
I presume the warning message on the back which says "cannot be used for... taxes" is meant primarily for people who buy this card in non-Apple stores. But when I first saw this label on the back of the card (before reading the entire article) I assumed that I couldn't use it to pay taxes on items I purchased on the iTunes or Apple App Store itself. So my reaction was "Now I gotta pull my credit card out to pay the tax on an iTunes purchase?" Does Apple really want average people thinking that? That will discourage them from buying this card and therefore discourage giving Apple cards as gifts. The average person may think "Why should I give this as a gift if it forces the person I'm giving it to to pay their own taxes. That would make me look like a cheap gift giver. No thanks." <-- I actually thought that upon first reading the back of the card, and I'm a savvy tech guy. Imagine what the average consumer would think.
Sometimes though your friends numbers come through as unknown. I found this when we went to fibre, any number that wasn’t also on the fibre network, i.e just about everyone I knew at the time, would show up as unknown number whereas before on the old copper network the numbers showed up correctly.
Please, do enlighten us. We're waiting.
It's one thing to say something can be done. It's another to actually make some valid suggestions.
I become more untrusting for each passing day.