The beauty of micro-purchases like those made via iTunes and the App Store is that they often go unnoticed by consumers. Unless someone is checking their credit card statements carefully and regularly, they are unlikely to notice a few extra dollars every month going to Apple. But when those tiny purchases start to add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in a short time frame, people notice quickly. And that's what happened in 2011 and previously, when "free" apps from the App Store - most designed for kids - offered "pay" features that could be easily downloaded from within the app itself.
The scam is a pretty simple one and proved to be highly effective: Design an app that is appealing to children and is free to download. Parents download the app for their kids and let them play with it on their iDevice. Then, unbeknownst to parents, notices pop up in the app offering special features, most of which the children don't understand, for $.99 or $1.99 or some other nominal fee. And, of course, the kids click to download the extra features and their parents are immediately billed by Apple. Repeat that process millions of times around the world and you end up with a class action lawsuit brought by the lawyers of angry parents who were duped by a rather simple high-tech scam.
In more recent versions of iOS, Apple has implemented some safeguards to prevent the same problems - but they still happen. Many apps for children offer paid features that pop up randomly when using the app. It's up to the user to ensure that their app purchases require the re-entry of their password. In fairness to Apple, I know firsthand that the company will refund "accidental" purchases made by children using apps. They are not necessarily happy to do it, but you get at least one "get out of jail free card" in such instances, assuming you catch it quickly.
The scam is a pretty simple one and proved to be highly effective: Design an app that is appealing to children and is free to download. Parents download the app for their kids and let them play with it on their iDevice. Then, unbeknownst to parents, notices pop up in the app offering special features, most of which the children don't understand, for $.99 or $1.99 or some other nominal fee. And, of course, the kids click to download the extra features and their parents are immediately billed by Apple. Repeat that process millions of times around the world and you end up with a class action lawsuit brought by the lawyers of angry parents who were duped by a rather simple high-tech scam.
In more recent versions of iOS, Apple has implemented some safeguards to prevent the same problems - but they still happen. Many apps for children offer paid features that pop up randomly when using the app. It's up to the user to ensure that their app purchases require the re-entry of their password. In fairness to Apple, I know firsthand that the company will refund "accidental" purchases made by children using apps. They are not necessarily happy to do it, but you get at least one "get out of jail free card" in such instances, assuming you catch it quickly.
