Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) has reached a deal to settle a lawsuit that accused the tech giant of knowingly allowing scams that use its gift cards to steal funds from victims.
Apple and the plaintiffs agreed to terms after working with a mediator, according to a filing in a San Jose federal court. The parties are working on a formal settlement that will be presented to US District Judge Edward Davila for initial approval.
The scams typically involve people asking victims to buy Apple Store or other gift cards and then share the codes that come on the back of the cards, thus giving them access to the money.
However, Apple would benefit from the scams too — the scammers would typically only receive 70% of the stolen funds, while Apple kept a 30% commission.
The lawsuit applies to US consumers from 2015 to July 31, 2020, who bought gift cards on the App Store or iTunes and provided codes to scammers but did not receive refunds from Apple.
Shares of Apple fell 0.8% Wednesday to $184.25.