Chinese Hackers cracked the algorithm Apple uses to generate gift cards, which allows them to offer $260 gift cards for as little as $2.60. Some reports have said that a $260 gift card used to go for $10, but as more and more people are generating fraudulent registration numbers, the price for gift cards are understandably plummeting.
Musically reports:
It points out that thousands of these hacked vouchers are for sale on Chinese online shopping site Taobao, where users are paying the hackers to generate codes for them to sell.
Apparently six months ago, a $200 card went for around 320 RMB (roughly $47), but the price has since plummeted to around 18 RMB ($2.60) as more sellers pile in. “But we make more money as the amount of customers is growing rapidly,” one tells Outdustry.
It’s unclear if Apple is aware of this or not, but given its population, I imagine China is the last country in which you’d want these cracked gift cards floating around.
Tue, Mar 10, 2009
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