STOLEN APPLE IDS USED IN STRING OF DIGITAL PAYMENT THEFTS IN CHINA, SAYS REPORT

Popular Chinese e-transaction giants Alipay and Tencent Holdings are warning users that hackers used hijacked Apple IDs to steal cash from customers’ accounts, according to a Bloomberg report Wednesday. It’s unclear how much the hackers stole.

Alipay said in a blog post that it’s working with Apple to figure out how the hackers got in. The company warned that customers may be vulnerable to theft if they’ve linked their Apple IDs to Alipay accounts, WeChat Pay or credit cards. Alipay suggested users lower their transaction limits to prevent large amounts of money from being stolen.

When reached for comment, Apple didn’t directly address the stolen Apple IDs.

“We encourage customers to create a strong password and turn on two-factor authentication to protect their accounts,” an Apple spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Tencent, which developed the popular chat app WeChat, reportedly said it’s also contacted Apple. It advised users to safeguard their Apple ID. WeChat has more than a billion users worldwide and can be used to pay for basically everything in China.

Alipay operates under Ant Financial, which is controlled by Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Alipay and Tencent Holdings didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.