Prosecutors have just brought federal charges of fraud and money laundering against Nicholas Arthur Woodhams of Kalamazoo, Mich. You may remember Woodhams as the man who scammed Apple out of numerous iPod shuffles, a plot that got him sued by the company in June 2008.

Here’’s how the scheme worked: Between March 2006 and October 2007, Woodhams guessed valid, serial numbers of iPod shuffles that were under warranty and have Apple send him replacement products. Then those would be sold for $49 eachthat’’s $30 less than the then-price of $79.

However, because Apple’’s return policy requires that defective units be returned within a certain period, Woodhams came up with a scheme to use prepaid VISA gift cards and a UPS store mailbox to get around that pesky detail. That way, instead of having Apple charge him for the replacement iPods, these VISA cards would reject that charge. Apparently Woodhams got away with acquring over 9,000 iPods using this method.

It’’s a clever enough ployif only he”d used his powers for good. Maybe Apple should hire him and help show him the error of his ways.

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Scammer shuffles Apple out of 9,000 iPods

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Filed under: Aftermarket , Audio , Gadgets , Lifestyle , Carsumer Advocacy More and more people are adding electronic gadgetry to their car’s arsenal after their initial purchase, which often makes sense since it almost always costs less to add audio equipment or GPS navigation from an aftermarket company than it does to spec if from the factory. Sadly, recent statistics prove that you’d better be careful with that shiny new piece of technology. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 24,700 portable navigation systems were swiped in 2008, representing a whopping 700% increase over 2006. While the number in thefts has rocketed skyward, the number of units sold have likewise gone supernova, leading us to wonder if the actual percentage of thefts over units in service has changed appreciably overall. Apple’s iPod is also attractive to thieves, who stole 17,000 of the little music players in ‘08. Perhaps the rise in iPod thefts helps explain why half as many car stereos (14,000) were stolen last year than in 2006, although we are willing to bet that automakers’ continued move away from standard-sized, non-integrated head units is also a major factor. Our common sense advice? Add-on nav systems and iPods are portable for a reason… remove them from your car when you leave it parked. Disaster averted. [Source: Ecommerce Journal ] Navi GONE : Portable GPS system theft reportedly up 700% originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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NaviGONE: Portable GPS system theft reportedly up 700%