Daring FireballAre Apple Gift Cards Safe to Redeem?
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/12/17/are-apple-gift-cards-safe-to-redeem
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/12/17/are-apple-gift-cards-safe-to-redeem
Michael Birenbach@daringfireball what a nightmare.
Frank Filippone@daringfireball one hopes that the method Apple used to "deactivate" this account wasn't something that can't be reversed, like deleting/expiring an encryption key/certificate or equivalent object as that would really be like disintegrating the whole account.
Abraham Vegh@daringfireball This is actually shockingly relevant and concerning to me, a recent recipient of a $500 gift card.
It was purchased directly from Apple, and delivered to me electronically, but I also planned to use it on hardware rather than just adding the value to my account, and now I certainly will not be trying the latter.
Jeroen Teeuwisse@daringfireball
“some sort of fraud detection algorithm” --> Siri, obviously
“some sort of fraud detection algorithm” --> Siri, obviously
Peter N Lewis@daringfireball I don't get why attempting to redeem an already used gift card would lock your account in the first place. Surely it would just be rejected? And surely in such a situation, the original redeemer is more likely to be the bad guy?
Owen 🇦🇺@peternlewis @daringfireball From what I could make out from earlier reports, the code/card may have been tampered with or flagged as stolen before Paris purchased it from the retailer. So maybe not just that the code had already been redeemed.
Regardless, Apple’s handling of this kind of situation is appalling and is extremely concerning for Apple customers who stand to lose a great deal more than the face value of a gift card if they fall victim to this kind of scam!
@vanitalo @daringfireball but whether they are pre-redeemed or marked as stolen or whatever, there is little to suggest that the final end user would be anything other than a victim.
@peternlewis @daringfireball Agreed… unless criminals are stupid enough to try adding stolen card credit to their own accounts. 🤪
wqoq@daringfireball Hasn’t gift card tampering been a thing now for a few years? That Apple would lock an account seems to be the only new aspect here (was is indeed concerning). But my local store where I buy physical gift cards has moved them back behind a customer service desk which is off limits to customers, and they did that a couple years ago during the last scare. Now, customers can only get clearly labelled “display” cards which the cashier needs to retrieve from customer service, or you take them to customer service yourself. I feel like that negates most of the problems around gift card scams.
billyok@daringfireball Apple not even speaking to this is the height of arrogance, and they'll likely get away with it as the commentator community forgets about the story and moves on to whatever stupid crap they announce at their next event. I feel like this story pops up annually and nothing is ever done about it, because they simply do not care and, after awhile, it seems like the people covering this rotting company don't either.
Nathan Zanon@daringfireball on the value of the gift card… Paris is Australian so this was very likely for $500 🇦🇺/dollarydoos, which is worth around $330 🇺🇸currently
Daniel Gomes@daringfireball So glad to hear this was finally resolved, especially since it was also his Dev account.
I agree with you: only buy gift cards directly from an Apple Store
@daringfireball So glad to hear this was finally resolved, especially since it was also his Dev account.
I agree with you: only buy gift cards directly from an Apple Store
@daringfireball So glad to hear this was finally resolved, especially since it was also his Dev account.
I agree with you: only buy gift cards directly from an Apple Store
Martin the paranoid android
ChancerubbagePossible Reasons Apple Card Fiasco not resolved:
Staff on vacation.
Matches profile of larger regional organized known theft patterns that may include stolen or counterfeit iPhone return, and theft of Apple ID credentials which Apple wants to track or investigate.
Apple thought ID credentials theft was also at stake.
Buts still seems that simply denying the bad Apple gift card sooner would have been best route. Perhaps because it was added to account but not yet drawn from.
Karl Baron@daringfireball Reminds me of the previous time Apple Gift Cards were in the news, seems like that time it took a Tim Cook email to solve https://qz.com/1683460/what-happens-to-your-itunes-account-when-apple-says-youve-committed-fraud
