In the wake of reports that Apple Inc.'s online iTunes store had been scammed, the company said Tuesday it has banned a Vietnamese developer and removed his applications from the venue.
"Developer Thuat Nguyen and his apps were removed from the App Store for violating the developer program license agreement, including fraudulent purchase patterns," Apple said in a statement.
The company did not provide any other details about the incident, which came to light after iTunes customers complained their accounts had been accessed to buy applications from Nguyen.
Nguyen could not be reached for comment.
Over the holiday weekend, technology blogs reported on the alleged scam. Engadget.com said that Nguyen had gamed the system to take 42 of the top 50 sales positions in the store's book category.