Hackers in China have used stolen Apple IDs to make off with cash from customers’ Alipay and Tencent accounts, two popular Chinese mobile payments service.
In a post on Weibo, Alipay said that it has contacted Apple to determine the exact details of the breach. It also warned that users who have linked their Apple IDs to mobile payment services should lower their transaction limits. Tencent has also gotten in contact with Apple.
It is not clear how the Apple IDs were obtained by the hackers, or the full extent of the issue.
“Since Apple hasn’t resolved this issue, users who’ve linked their Apple ID to any payments method, including Alipay, WePay or credit cards, may be vulnerable to theft,” Alipay wrote.
“Tencent is actively communicating with Apple to better understand how it’s resolving the situation,” Tencent, which operates the popular WeChat messaging service, told Bloomberg.
Right now, Apple’s been the recipient of a series of negative stories involving China. Recently, the company was in the news in China after users reported being flooded with iMessage spam. There is also continued blowback about the Bloomberg BusinessWeek article alleging that Apple was one of a number of companies to unwittingly by motherboards infiltrated by a Chinese spy chip. Apple has strenuously denied this allegation.
Tim Cook is currently visiting China on a PR trip, having arrived there earlier this week.
