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The issue here is that Apple is facilitating wire fraud, which is extremely illegal in the United States. The bad actors who created that app are committing wir

The issue here is that Apple is facilitating wire fraud, which is extremely illegal in the United States. The bad actors who created that app are committing wire fraud on an Apple platform, which is of course colloquially known as the App Store. The problem is that if you are associated with a crime committed in the United States in any way (besides being a very distant third-person witness with no associations whatsoever to the individual), and you are not a crime victim or an individual reporting the crime, you are almost always considered to be an _accessory to the crime_ which is a misdemeanor (go to jail for up to 365 days) or felony (go to prison for over 365 days) state level (has parole for prisoners) or federal level (effectively has no parole for prisoners) criminal offense, which the police will arrest you for and charge you with, while the person committing the misdemeanor/felony gets charged with whatever crime they perpetrated. For example, if your "acquaintance" shoplifts at a store and gets caught, and you don't stop or report them: you will get charged as being an accessory to a crime and you're going to jail. Also, if you are involved in an altercation in any way, the cop can put everyone involved in handcuffs and charge them, even if you never got physically or verbally violent. There are also catch-all laws in the US that one can go to prison for, basically for acting in "bad faith" but never actually doing anything else criminally wrong. This is why you never talk to the police, ever. They will twist your statements in the wildest ways imaginable. If you get pulled over by the police, you should practice, every single time, saying as little as possible to the officer. This has never happened to me personally, but, everyone needs to know this: If the police in America start questioning you and it gets into a detailed discussion, you stop right there and say: "No comment: I need to talk to my lawyer first."

Gene_Parmesan 5y ago
> There are also catch-all laws in the US that one can go to prison for, basically for acting in "bad faith" but never actually doing anything else criminally wrong. As someone who used to be a criminal prosecutor in the US, I would be very interested in seeing citations to whatever statute you are referencing. As far as being charged as an accessory, you generally need to have known that a crime was or would be occurring, and to have provided some form of assistance. That doesn't need to be direct actions in the act, it could be financial or emotional assistance. And no one is going to prison over shoplifting unless we're talking about repeat offenders or large amounts of cash. Let alone just happening to know someone who shoplifted and failing to report them. Having said that, definitely don't talk to the police without a lawyer present.
amelius 5y ago
> The issue here is that Apple is facilitating wire fraud Not just facilitating. They get 30% for it.
- simondotau 5y ago
  Yes, except this scam app was free. Apple earned 30% of $0.
  - webmobdev 5y ago
    Nopes, they also earn $99 / year - https://developer.apple.com/support/purchase-activation/ https://developer.apple.com/support/purchase-activation/ ...
    - simondotau 5y ago
      Of course, but I was responding to the specific claim that Apple "gets 30% for it." Arguing about the $99/year developer fee is a pointless rabbit hole. You might as well also accuse Apple of selling the developers an iPhone and a Mac for developing the scam app. And then don't forget to accuse the electrical grid operator of selling electricity to the scammers.
      - webmobdev 5y ago
        Arguing about the $99/year developer fee is a pointless rabbit hole. No, it isn't - till Apple instituted this practice developers never paid any company for the privilege of creating software and adding value to their platform. Whether the app is free or paid, Apple still makes money when a developer wants to distribute the app on their platform and this acts as another incentive for them to be lax.
        simondotau 5y ago
        You have a serious issue with the concept of scale if you think that Apple, a trillion dollar company, is in any way influenced by a $99/year developer fee. Any possible positive incentive is grossly outstripped by the risk of reputational damage. Do you seriously think that Apple values the promise of a scammer’s $99 fee recurring next year more then they would value having fewer scams in their store? I genuinely believe you’re being unserious here.

Gene_Parmesan 5y ago

> There are also catch-all laws in the US that one can go to prison for, basically for acting in "bad faith" but never actually doing anything else criminally wrong. As someone who used to be a criminal prosecutor in the US, I would be very interested in seeing citations to whatever statute you are referencing. As far as being charged as an accessory, you generally need to have known that a crime was or would be occurring, and to have provided some form of assistance. That doesn't need to be direct actions in the act, it could be financial or emotional assistance. And no one is going to prison over shoplifting unless we're talking about repeat offenders or large amounts of cash. Let alone just happening to know someone who shoplifted and failing to report them. Having said that, definitely don't talk to the police without a lawyer present.

amelius 5y ago

> The issue here is that Apple is facilitating wire fraud Not just facilitating. They get 30% for it.

simondotau 5y ago
Yes, except this scam app was free. Apple earned 30% of $0.
- webmobdev 5y ago
  Nopes, they also earn $99 / year - https://developer.apple.com/support/purchase-activation/ https://developer.apple.com/support/purchase-activation/ ...
  - simondotau 5y ago
    Of course, but I was responding to the specific claim that Apple "gets 30% for it." Arguing about the $99/year developer fee is a pointless rabbit hole. You might as well also accuse Apple of selling the developers an iPhone and a Mac for developing the scam app. And then don't forget to accuse the electrical grid operator of selling electricity to the scammers.
    - webmobdev 5y ago
      Arguing about the $99/year developer fee is a pointless rabbit hole. No, it isn't - till Apple instituted this practice developers never paid any company for the privilege of creating software and adding value to their platform. Whether the app is free or paid, Apple still makes money when a developer wants to distribute the app on their platform and this acts as another incentive for them to be lax.
      - simondotau 5y ago
        You have a serious issue with the concept of scale if you think that Apple, a trillion dollar company, is in any way influenced by a $99/year developer fee. Any possible positive incentive is grossly outstripped by the risk of reputational damage. Do you seriously think that Apple values the promise of a scammer’s $99 fee recurring next year more then they would value having fewer scams in their store? I genuinely believe you’re being unserious here.