The loss of a JPMorgan Chase customer’s life savings has sent Apple scrambling to remove a group of apps from the App Store.
Chase customer Avalon Grimes says her account was drained after she received a call that appeared to be from the bank, reports CBS New York.
The phone number on her caller ID matched the number on the back of her Chase debit card – but the caller was a scammer who convinced Grimes to transfer her money to another account.
The thief used a technique called spoofing to mimic Chase’s actual phone number, a practice Verizon says should be illegal.
But CBS New York says it found spoofing can be easily done through the App Store.
“On Apple’s app store, CBS New York found multiple apps that let you spoof numbers, including one prank-calling app that let us spoof that same Chase Bank number for free.
It even showed Chase Bank on the caller ID on one attempt.”
Apple says it has sophisticated systems in place to thwart fraudulent apps, and the company quickly deleted a pair of unnamed apps that CBS New York called out.
According to Apple, the apps were removed because its policies ban apps that allow users to make anonymous or prank calls.
As for Chase, the banking giant says it will never call customers or ask them for security codes. But the bank will not have to reimburse Grimes.
The government requires banks to reimburse customers in certain cases of fraud, but not when the customer is tricked into approving fraudulent transactions.
“Chase says it is working with the bank the scammer used to try to get the funds back.
But the scammer likely already withdrew the money, which means Grimes is back to square one in her quest to save up for a new home.”
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