iTunes Account Disabled

A lot of this is going to end up as just documentation by me, I’m sure, but here goes:

On December 2, my iTunes account was hacked and someone bought themselves a gift card. I received the following email.

Apple Receipt
-----------------------------------------------------------
Billed to:
cryptographrix@gmail.com
Michael Renz
XX-YY My Street
My City, NY MyZip
USA


        Order Number: M3NSQST55N
        Receipt Date: 12/01/10
         Order Total: $50.00
           Billed To: PayPal


$50.00 Gift certificate for ptogr
-------------------------------------------------------------=--------
                                             Subtotal:       $50.00

                                                  Tax:       $0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------=--------
                                    Credit Card Total:       $50.00
-------------------------------------------------------------=--------
                                          Order Total:       $50.00

Please retain for your records.
Please See Below For Terms And Conditions Pertaining To This Order.

Apple Inc.
You can find the iTunes Store Terms of Sale and Sales Policies by
launching your iTunes application and clicking on
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/sales.html

Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the iTunes Store
can be found at
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/

Account Information: 
https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/accountSummary
Purchase History: 
https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/purchaseHistory

Apple respects your privacy.
Information regarding your personal information can be viewed at
http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/

Copyright (C) 2008 Apple Inc. All rights reserved
http://www.apple.com/legal/

On December 7, I submitted a support request to iTunes account service, since there was no phone number

Customer First Name : Michael
Customer Last Name : Renz
email : cryptographrix@gmail.com
Web Order # :
Support Subject : Express Lane inquiry
Sub Issue : undefined
See additional info below
OS version: Mac OS X 10.6.x
Country: US
iTunes version: iTunes 10.1
iTunes account name: cryptographrix@gmail.com
Item title: My account is disabled
Details:
Somehow, my iTunes account is disabled and I can not purchase….

On December 11, I receive the following response from Apple’s ‘iTunes Store Customer Support’

Dear Michael,

I understand that your account is disabled and you would like it enabled. I know you must be eager to resolve this issue and it will be my pleasure to look into this matter further on your behalf.

Finding a solution for you is important to me, so I have requested assistance with the issue you reported. You will receive an email after the matter has been investigated and further information is available.

Thank you for your patience. Apple wants your iTunes experience to be as enjoyable as possible.

Sincerely,

Daniel
iTunes Store Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/

Please Note: I work for the week of 12/11/2010 to 12/18/2010
Sat 8-430
Mon,Tue,Thu 830-5
Fri,Sat 8-430
These times are CST

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.

On December 11, I responded with the following 2 emails

I have received an email saying I purchased a “gift card for ptogr” the other day that is inaccurate, if it helps.

I did not purchase the gift card, and do not know who would use my account to do so - otherwise I have a number of devices on my account for myself and direct family (Two iPod touches - one for me and my wife, one iPad for my mom).

I am the only person that has had the password to the account, though, and only I authorize or make purchases.

Hmmm, it looks like the $50 did go through to my bank account:
-$50.00 PAYPAL *ITUNESSTOR,402-935-7733 CA REFID:160336256729162;

This should be reversed. I absolutely did not purchase that gift card.
Also, what’s happening with my iTunes account?

On December 13, I went to the Soho Apple Store and learned that the Apple Store does not support iTunes store service, and also does not know of any phone numbers to call iTunes Store Customer Support.
I went to teh intartubes for help - http://discussions.info.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12753842#12753842
On December 16, I emailed someone in Apple corporate that was recommended in the above link. So far, still nothing. This is really ridiculous.
On the afternoon of December 16, I called 1-800-275-2273 and got a human. Since he was AppleCare (not iTunes support), he was evidently in IM conversation with iTunes support, who, after 40 minutes, said that they would send me an email within 24-48 hours (like every other email they’ve sent since December 7).

I am still waiting on the email from iTunes customer support.

I plan on updating this post as events continue.

Suggestions are welcome.

Dec 16

Dec
16