There is no doubt this massive monopoly launders money.

It is one of the largest money laundering operations on the planet.

It also isn’t just for criminals, although, they do make up the vast majority of the people who use it.

The crazy thing is banks are involved in it which seems odd, considering the front of the business.

It is a very murky world of companies and fronts and shell companies, but every single one of you reading this, knows its most famous brand. You may not have watched their content, but you know who it is, and this is not about Netflix.

The murkiness of this company’s business practices have long been known.

The money laundering is a fairly recent turn of events.

The origins of the money used to swallow up competitors around the world was facilitated by the dead billionaire, which, if you think about it, makes a lot of sense he would want to be involved.

Anyway, there is a new offshoot of this company that is supposed to empower women.

It even portends to have a woman running the operation.

It doesn’t.

All it does do is to add another layer of murkiness to the company and another outlet to launder even more money while pretending it is an advocate for change by making micro donations to charities and causes.

Because of the empowerment message, a group of celebrities including a rapper who is best friends with the north of the border one namer who had a recent life event get paid to say nice things about the company.

The celebrity significant other of this long time network star of a long long running network show is also a big supporter.

The list is endless, but all they are doing is helping to legitimize the laundering of criminal proceeds or money being hidden from the taxing authorities.

It is the new version of the Panama Papers.

Monopoly: Apple

Its most famous brand: iTunes

Dew offshoot: Apple Music

Dead billionaire: Jeffrey Epstein

Rapper: Skrillex

North of the border one namer: Grimes

Millions Are Being Lost To Apple Pay Fraud—Will Apple Card Come To The Rescue?

Millions of dollars have been lost to fraudsters exploiting Apple Pay loopholes left open by banks. Will the new Apple Card close the door on credit card fraud?

In December, the Department of Justice quietly announced the four-year sentence of a 23-year-old Miami resident who the government claimed was involved in a gang that loaded stolen Capital One credit cards onto their iPhones. Between 2015 and 2016, they spent more than $1.5 million on fraudulent purchases via Apple Pay.

More recently, according to a criminal complaint unearthed by Forbes, the U.S. government alleged that a group of 30-year-old friends loaded Apple Pay accounts and other digital wallets with stolen JPMorgan credit cards purchased from dark Web trading sites. They then made $600,000 in fraudulent purposes, splurging on a range of expensive gadgets—from a Rolex watch costing $35,000 to MacBook Pros and iPhones costing thousands of dollars—in stores in Washington State, according to the government. They then resold their purchases, the complaint noted. Alongside the Florida case, it’s one of the most financially damaging crimes yet documented in which Apple Pay was abused.

Assistant United States attorney Marie Dalton, who’s leading the prosecution of the Washington case, explained why the suspects chose to use Apple Pay and other popular wallets rather than just buy items online with the stolen credit card data. “When using a mobile wallet, the fraudster can instantly receive their stolen goods from the store without providing additional identification or delivery address,” she told Forbes. “Online, many retailers use verification applications, such as Verified by Visa or other mechanisms, to ensure the person making the purchase is the person whose credit card is used.” Crooks can also sidestep cloning cards, copying signatures and chip and pin technology by using Apple Pay to make in-store purchases in person. – Source

7 of the biggest controversies surrounding Apple

1. Holy War on Google
As part of a court case between Apple and Samsung in 2014, an email from Steve Jobs came to light that showed the Apple co-founder wanted to wage a “Holy War” with rival technology firm Google, as he looked to push Apple to compete with Google in every way possible.

Before his death in 2011, Jobs also said that if Google ever copied any of Apple’s designs he would go “thermonuclear” on the company.

2. Anti-competitive
The Apple insistence, driven by Jobs, that the company has complete control over its products from start to finish has led to claims of anti-competitive behaviour.

Apple’s sealing of some products, including the 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display, which was heavily, physically sealed, was criticised for locking out customers and eliminating their ability to self-repair.

In the early days of iTunes, the European Union also raised concerns over restrictions Apple placed on sales from the iTunes Store, which were dictated by the country the user’s payment details were based in, leading to cases where some paid higher prices.

3. Adobe Flash
Apple caused a stir on both the iPhone and iPad when with the launch of iOS 4, when the use of programs written in coding languages not approved by Apple was prohibited – one of which was Abode Flash – meaning the program that powered many animations and videos on websites at the time would not work on Apple’s mobile products.

Adobe called the move anti-competitive as it forced many developers to reconsider using the program if they wanted Apple users to see their content.

4. Foxconn
The majority of Apple’s product assembly takes place in China through contractors, and there have been several investigations that allege staff are forced to work in “sweatshop conditions”, with further allegations of a spate of suicides linked to exhausted staff emerging in 2010.

Apple has since introduced yearly auditing that it says monitors working and living conditions, though concerns remain in some quarters.

5. Tax
Like many large multinational corporations, Apple has been accused of using tax shelters in order to protect its revenues.

The company has been accused of using Ireland and Luxembourg to get tax breaks, allegations which the European Commission is investigating. Chief executive Tim Cook called the move “political crap” in a recent interview.

6. Patent wars
In an on-going battle with Samsung, Apple has been locked in a host of patent infringement lawsuits and counter suits with the Korean technology giant over the alleged copying of designs for smartphones.

Apple has attempted to have some Samsung’s removed from sale in the US, while a recent 120 million US dollar ruling in favour of Apple has since been overturned in the US Court of Appeals. Another case is due to go to the Supreme Court shortly.

7. FBI and encryption
Apple’s most recent battle came with the US government and FBI. The latter asked the US Department of Justice to force Apple to help law enforcement unlock the iPhone of a terror suspect.

Apple refused on privacy grounds, adding that any work done to weaken encryption on this one device could be applied anywhere, thus weakening iPhone security as a whole.

Cook called the demand “chilling” and a breach of customer privacy, before the FBI used a third party to gain access and dropped the court proceedings. – Source

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