Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ Compromised Apple Gift Card Saga Ends Well, but Risks Remain Adam Engst Happily, the case of Apple developer, author, and conference organizer Paris Buttfield-Addison being locked out of his Apple Account for attempting to redeem a tainted gift card has been resolved (see '[1]Compromised Apple Gift Card Leads to Apple Account Lockout,' 17 December 2025). [2]Buttfield-Addison posted an update on 18 December 2025, five days after his initial post, saying that an Apple Executive Relations representative finally told him, 'it's all fixed.' Buttfield-Addison promises a more substantive update soon, but we can infer that he has largely regained access to his Apple Account and its associated data and services. The key to this Kafkaesque saga was the $500 gift card Buttfield-Addison purchased and then attempted to redeem. (Some former Apple support advisors have said there was probably more to it than that single redemption attempt, but if that's the case, Apple will have to make a public statement.) He writes: It looks like the gift card I tried to redeem, which did not work for me, and did not credit my account, was already redeemed in some way (sounds like classic gift card tampering), and my account was caught by that. Obviously it's unacceptable that this can happen, and I'm still trying to get more information out of him, but at least things are now mostly working. Strangely, he did tell me to only ever buy gift cards from Apple themselves; I asked if that means Apple's supply chain of [3]Blackhawk Network, [4]InComm, and other gift card vendors is insecure, and he was unwilling to comment. The more I think about this situation, the more dubious Apple Gift Cards seem. It appears to have worked out for Buttfield-Addison in the end, but he had friends inside Apple and the connections necessary to trigger significant negative press coverage. But this is not an isolated problem. TidBITS reader Brian Hoberman shared[5]a similar story on TidBITS Talk,and a search for 'gift card disabled' on the Apple Support Community forums yielded[6]over a thousand discussions. Scanning them reveals many people who were likely victims of various scams, but that also means Apple is further victimizing them by locking their accounts. What We Know About Apple Gift Cards Understanding the risks requires knowing how Apple's gift card ecosystem works and where it can go wrong: * Scams are widespread:[7]Apple warns usersabout gift card scams and advises those affected to contact Apple Support. As we've seen, that approach isn't always successful. * There are several types of Apple gift cards:[8]Apple currently offers four,plus two older versions. When you redeem anApple Gift Card,App Store Card, or App Store & iTunes Gift Card, the funds are added to your Apple Account balance and can be used to purchase apps, media, and services. AnApple Gift Cardcan also be used to purchase physical items at an Apple Store or the Apple Online Store. TheApple Store Gift Cardcan only be used for physical items. Some cards may be more or less susceptible to scams. * Digital versus physical delivery:Gift cards purchased digitally (with codes sent in email) from Apple are presumably safer than physical cards on retail shelves because there's no opportunity for physical tampering. But you could still run afoul of other fraud-detection signals, as Brian Hoberman experienced. * Gift cards can be bought at various locations:It seems less likely that a gift card purchased directly from Apple would be tainted, and more likely that one from eBay or a random online site would have problems. But it's unreasonable to expect everyday users to be aware that cards purchased from major retailers could be compromised. Buttfield-Addison purchased his from 'a major brick-and-mortar retailer (Australians, think Woolworths scale; Americans, think Walmart scale).' Since Apple Gift Cards don't expire, compromised cards could sit on retailer shelves for months, extending the window during which tampering could occur. * Received gift cards may lack provenance:Although many people buy gift cards at less than face value during promotions'mainly through third-party retailers'for personal use, they aregiftcards, and someone receiving one as a gift might have no idea where it was purchased. * Automated fraud detection systems can lock Apple Accounts: Due to the prevalence of scams, Apple has automated fraud-detection systems that watch for previously redeemed numbers, repeated errors during redemption, redeeming too many gift cards, and more. * Recovering a locked-out account can be difficult:Although Apple provides[9]automated systems to deal with locked accountsand recommends that people contact Apple Support, numerous reports (including Buttfield-Addison's) indicate that Apple Support often cannot resolve the problem. Reaching out to Apple Executive Relations by emailing [10][email protected] might help, but there are no guarantees. As much as we dislike admitting it,[11]complaining to the press often worksbecause Apple hates negative publicity. Even if it's only temporary, losing access to your digital life'passwords, photos, email, apps, and more'can be incredibly stressful. Bottom Line: Avoid Gift Cards Given those facts, I would never give anyone an Apple Gift Card, and if I received one, I would redeem it only at an Apple Store for physical items. The likelihood of a problem may be very low, but the impact of being locked out of my Apple Account is very high. And I'm one of those people who could probably rally sufficient negative press to resolve the problem. Although everyone must make their own risk decisions, I recommend avoiding Apple gift cards, particularly those that can only be redeemed into an Apple Account balance for digital purchases. At least the Apple Gift Card and Apple Store Gift Card can be used without exposing your Apple Account to the redemption process. I'm not alone. At Daring Fireball, [12]John Gruber shares his concern surrounding Buttfield-Addison's story, saying, 'The whole thing does make me nervous about redeeming, or giving, Apple gift cards.' [13]Nick Heer has a similar take at Pixel Envy: I cannot tell you what to do, but I would not buy an Apple gift card for someone else, and I would not redeem one myself, until Apple clearly explains what happened here and what it will do to prevent something similar happening in the future. The good news? There's still time to find another gift for your Apple-using loved ones. And if someone gives you an Apple Gift Card this holiday season, at least now you know to redeem it at an Apple Store for something physical. References 1. https://tidbits.com/2025/12/17/compromised-apple-gift-card-leads-to-apple-account-lockout/ 2. https://hey.paris/posts/appleid/ 3. https://blackhawknetwork.com/ 4. https://www.incomm.com/ 5. https://talk.tidbits.com/t/compromised-apple-gift-card-leads-to-apple-account-lockout/32517/7?u=ace 6. https://discussions.apple.com/search?q=gift+card+account+disabled&page=1&perPage=20&content=filterDiscussions&sortBy=relevance&source=aml&origin=asc_serp&searchId=JQCERtN1SSaCfF6qXZ-Ikg 7. https://support.apple.com/en-us/120933 8. https://support.apple.com/en-us/118407 9. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102640 10. file://localhost/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection 11. https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/11/26/running-to-the-press 12. https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/12/17/are-apple-gift-cards-safe-to-redeem 13. https://pxlnv.com/linklog/apple-gift-card-safety/ .