AppleInsider received a curious email that was sent to the developer of iPhone app TiltMeter Pro. The email states that the sender has been "taking a look into your application" and states that they have iTunes US, UK and Canadian gift certificate codes which they would use to purchase the the app in question and splits the earnings from those purchases with developer 50-50.
In other words, the scammer buys multiple copies of an app and the developer shares the the earnings they receive from Apple with the scammer. Not exactly rocket science.
Counterfeiters have successfully cracked Apple's iTunes gift certificate code algorithm. Yet, due to the risk of losing their iTunes account and the being charged with fraud. Users have been weary of purchasing the illegal codes.
Instead the scammers are now hoping to bypass the user and go straight to developers. The scammers seem to be counting on a developers desire to make money and be showcased on the front page of the App Store.
Developers that partake in the scam wouldn't be too difficult to catch. Apple would realize a large number of codes are being used for an app, those codes would turn out to be fake and the developer would be caught red handed. Developers looking for a quick buck could potentially be barred from the App Store if caught.
Brendan Bartholomew
April 12, 2009 at 4:23pm
...unless the company being scammed was the same one that let an iPod repairman bilk them out of how many thousands of Shuffles?
