Following a recent investigation, Japanese authorities plan to summon Apple officials this week after they found customers were being charged for songs on iTunes they never downloaded.
As the Independent reports, five different credit card companies have collectively reported 95 cases in which iTunes customers said they had been charged, in some cases, thousands of dollars for tracks they never allegedly purchased.
As an official from Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency noted, the number of cases started escalating in autumn of 2009, and "the damage in those cases seems to range from a few hundred yen to several hundred thousand yen [from several dollars to several thousand dollars]."
One woman, who registered her ID and credit card with the Japanese iTunes but hadn't bought music for several years, started receiving bills that eventually added up to more than a thousand dollars, said the official.
Japan's industry and communications ministries have joined the investigations to see whether or not the company has been illegally collecting the personal information of it's customers, who have been advised to be watchful.
Apple Japan has yet to comment.
Spreading the fear:
As the Independent reports, five different credit card companies have collectively reported 95 cases in which iTunes customers said they had been charged, in some cases, thousands of dollars for tracks they never allegedly purchased.
As an official from Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency noted, the number of cases started escalating in autumn of 2009, and "the damage in those cases seems to range from a few hundred yen to several hundred thousand yen [from several dollars to several thousand dollars]."
One woman, who registered her ID and credit card with the Japanese iTunes but hadn't bought music for several years, started receiving bills that eventually added up to more than a thousand dollars, said the official.
Japan's industry and communications ministries have joined the investigations to see whether or not the company has been illegally collecting the personal information of it's customers, who have been advised to be watchful.
Apple Japan has yet to comment.
Spreading the fear:
