Apple has apologized to its Chinese users after Apple IDs were used to steal money.
In a statement on Tuesday, Apple said that it is “deeply apologetic about the inconvenience caused to our customers by these phishing scams,” according to The Wall Street Journal, which obtained a copy of the apology. In another statement to the Journal, Apple said that a “small number” of users were affected by the breach.
According to the company, some Apple accounts in China had been targeted by a phishing scam that duped users into sharing their Apple ID credentials with the hackers. Those hackers then accessed the digital wallet accounts attached to them via Chinese mobile-payment services Alipay and WeChat and stole their cash.
According to the Journal, Apple said that the affected users didn’t have two-factor authentication on, which requires users to both input a password and a code that’s sent to their smartphones to verify their identity. The company didn’t say how much money was stolen and whether users would have their funds replenished.
Apple IDs are used for a variety of purchases in Apple’s product lineup, including apps, movies, music, and more. The accounts all have a person’s name, email address, and payment information attached to them and are extremely attractive to malicious hackers hoping to swipe some cash from users.
Apple did not respond to a Coins2Day request for comment on the breach.