Apple Now Has New Trouble With Store Pickup For Online Orders – All Details In Scam Costing Over $400,000

In a recent disclosure at the Black Hat Asia conference, security researchers revealed a sophisticated cybercriminal scheme that exploits the Apple Store Online’s “someone else will pick it up” feature. The vulnerability reportedly netted criminals more than $400,000 in just two years.

“Airport pick up” scam exposed

Cybercriminals use a two-pronged strategy to run their scams. Initially, South Korea sold Apple products at discounted prices on their second-hand online platforms (like Craigslist or eBay). Once the customer agrees to purchase, the criminals use the stolen credit card details to purchase the actual product from the Apple Store. Instead of sending purchased items, they opted for the “someone else will pick it up” option. This reportedly allowed shoppers to unknowingly participate in the scam by using official IDs and QR codes/order numbers to pick up items from Apple retail stores. 9 to 5 Mac.

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The poison apple plan

Researchers Gyun Kim and Hyunho Cho have dubbed this scam the “poison apple,” and it has proven to be extremely profitable. A criminal can make a $700 profit by purchasing an iPhone 15 for $700 and then selling it for the original price of $800, with all costs borne by the original credit card owner.

Apple’s positioning and research challenges

In some extreme cases, Apple’s reluctance to cooperate has hampered investigations. Despite attempts by victims to report incidents to their credit card companies and the police, Apple’s internal policies caused significant delays in the investigation.

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Global opportunities and criminals

Although the current project targets South Korea and Japan, researchers suspect that the perpetrator is based in China, as the phishing pages were registered through Chinese Internet service providers. Evidence also points to references to simplified Chinese on darknet forums, suggesting the scheme could potentially expand to other regions, including the United States.

In light of these findings, it’s important to be cautious when shopping online and beware of deals that don’t seem genuine. Always make sure to verify the authenticity of sellers and platforms and report any suspicious activity immediately.

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