Apl.itunes has taken money from my account and I never ordered anything.

luckylady: This sounds like there might have been a mix-up of some sort. Do you have any other details you can share with us? I am curious to find out what has happened.

If you don't have an Apple iTunes account, you should call your bank right away and report it to them.

FYI: My bank recently identified and blocked an unauthorised attempted account debit pretending to be from APL itunes but actually from some other organisation/person planning to steal my money. I'm having my card changed.

I'm having the same issue what should I do?

Call your bank. I was issued a new card and number by Bank of America.

Yes, it sounds like this is not actually related to iTunes; rather, it's an attempt by these folks to delude your bank. I'd start with the bank and see what they say. I am extremely curious to hear what they do say. If anyone has done this, please let me know.

It is 2/19 and I checked my bank statement and saw APL iTunes. I do not even own an Ipod. My bank told me to wait until the transaction actually posted on my account which would be tomorrow. I was asked to call back on Wednesday. This is very scary.

Well, you could call Apple and tell them that someone might have made a purchase with your credit/debit card. They would probably suspend that card. I am not sure, but it is worth trying. I am very curious to hear how it turns out.

Sounds like they don't know who the scammer was. Sounds like someone got away with posing as Apple. But, I would think the dispute process should go in your favor.

I have the same problem too. I just find the charge on my credit card on Mar 1, 2008, and I dont know what to do.

Same problem! Yesterday I found where 'apl itunes' had transfered over a 150.00 out of my checking account. The last time I had bought anything from itunes was about 2 years ago and it was just for a couple songs plus I did it thru paypal. I emailed and talk over the phone with Apple and they said it wasn't them, they didn't even had any of my account info. The person I talked to said that they hadn't heard anything about this problem, she and I just fingured the 'PTB' had not put the word out and trying to keep it quiet and out of the press. I went to my bank and we filed a dispute form and canced my card and ordered a new one. The bank said I had a good chance of getting my money back.

What is the name of your bank?

I read your early posts and I think I stated that Apple is playing dumb on this or at least the people in the fraud departmart. I had talked to my bank (the big 800 type #) on the phone and they said to go to my local bank to handle the paper work. When I got to the bank they were surprise that my card wasn't canceled on the phone but they took care of that for me. Oh' it is Regions Bank

This same exact thing happened to me! On 2/29/08, two charges were made to my bank check card. The first one was for $154.00 and it posted immediately. When I saw the unauthorized charge I called the bank immediately and had it removed. I was very relieved. I cancelled my check card and will soon get a new one. However, yesterday another amount for $150.00 was applied. I didn't know how this would be possible since I had cancelled my card. It turns out the 2nd charge was made at the same time, but didn't post to my account until yesterday. I called the bank immediately and submitted a dispute of the charge. Now I have to wait 5 - 7 business days for the $150 to be "temporarily" put back into my account. The bank has 45-90 days to dispute the charge; and if for some reason the dispute's results are not in my favor, I will have to pay back that $150.00 to the bank. I never lost my check card and have no idea how itunes would get my card #, since I never purchased anything from them! I don't even have an ipod!!! Oh, and by the way, the phone number for itunes that the bank gave me only leads you to their website!!!! hopefully, the dispute/investigative department at the bank will have better luck!

I just got back from Wachovia where I cut up my debit card and ordered a new one. I filed a fraud claim and they should be crediting the $150 back to my account on a temporary basis pending that their investigation doesn't prove that I did in fact spend $150 on itunes. I don't even have an iPod or anything made by Apple!
What I would like to know is WHERE this all started. Are any of the other victims out there willing to list websites or merchants that they've recently used the affected cards to buy from?

PS - The guy helping me at the bank put his phone on speaker and dialed the number that was listed with the charge on my account in the bank's system (thinking it would lead us to Apple) and a recording came on, referring us to the website for questions, then there was a lot of interference but we made out "Press 1" so he pressed 1 and the call disconnected. Whoever is behind this has apparently gone to great lengths by creating their own 800 number and linking it to that message, etc. If nothing else, Apple should be investigating on behalf of their own reputation, not to mention the banks and all of the money they will be losing if they are unable to recover the funds!

Wow...how ironic that the magic number happens to be "$150.00" I am sickened by this. I found out tonight that the money will not go back into my account until approximately 10 days from returning the dispute papers. The first bank representative did not tell me this! I just filed the dispute yesterday with the bank and am anxiously awaiting the papers. Once i get them filled out, I have to fax them to the bank headquarters from my branch office. In reply to n2witchn, I believe the number that the bank gave me for itunes was the same number! the same thing happened to me...telling me go the website and then disconnecting! I hope this is soon resolved, and the criminal doing this is caught!

Same here. number listed on the card statement is APL*IT
UNES 866-712-7753 CA

this is really disturbing

I also had a false charge on one of my credit cards that appears to be from Apple iTunes but mine was for $164 and some odd cents. My credit card company actually called me because they thought is was unusual. It's been a whole huge ordeal of figuring out whether it was fraud or a dispute (since I actually do make relevant charges with iTunes on that card from time to time) but I think it will work out soon. It's very frustrating that the number the bank gave me to call iTunes only had an automated message directing me to their website. I went to iTunes and it only says to call your bank to dispute the charge. A freaking run around! I have always loved Macs and Apple, but this has really soured me on them. Even if this isn't their fault that a charge was made erroneously, they should have easier customer service to help resolve the problem.

I'm sorry to everyone whom this has happened. As a positive vote for Apple's iTunes customer service, I have only had a problem with a song I purchased once. I used the help system in iTunes and was promptly given a refund.

The scammer, and thus the bank, are completely responsible for these fraudulent charges, and it's unfortunate that they have used Apple's name to gain credibility for their scam, as well as setting up the 800 number to further trick victims into feeling like Apple hasn't helped them at all, but rather redirected them back to a website.

Aside from contacting law enforcement, there is nothing Apple can do to help anyone who has been scammed in this way. You'll have to call the banks yourselves, as many of you have done already, to successfully recover your money.

Yes, this is really unfortunate, and my heart goes out to you. I sent a message to the Apple public relations folks about this issue you're having, and although they can't help recover any money with this kind of scam, my hope is that we can bring greater awareness of this particular scam. Keep your chin up, and let us know if your bank will refund your money. They certainly should, as you've done nothing wrong in what appears to be a clear case of fraud. Please keep us posted!

I agree that Apple is in no way responsible. It's just like identity theft, but on a corporate level. My money was returned immediately by Wachovia (my bank) upon filling out claim forms. I guess they pursued the issue with the merchant who took my money and my statement reads as if that merchant refunded my money. When I got the refund from "Apl.itunes" the bank took theirs back. Luckily I wasn't strapped for money at the time and no overdraft fees were incurred. That would have totally sucked.