Scammers upload music to iTunes, then buy it using stolen credit cardsTalk about jailhouse rock. Last week, 19-year-old Lamar Johnson pleaded guilty in a UK court to one count of conspiracy to defraud, according to the BBC. He was using stolen credit card numbers to buy his own band's music on iTunes and Amazon, thus collecting the royalties.
Johnson was part of a 12-member "band" that recorded their own music and uploaded it to iTunes and Amazon.com. The group then used the credit cards to buy their own songs from the iTunes and Amazon music stores.
In total, the group purchased US $750,000 worth of their songs from iTunes and Amazon between January 2008 and June 2009. No word on how much Johnson would have earned had he and his group successfully collected the royalties. The name of the band remains a mystery as well, though you can bet their music has been pulled from the iTunes Store.
Johnson is currently serving a five-year jail sentence for grievous bodily harm, separate and apart from the musical fraud case. The remaining eleven members of Johnson's group have yet to be tried, but are scheduled to appear in court in January.Scammers upload music to iTunes, then buy it using stolen credit cards originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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