Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit that alleges an iTunes gift card scam has swindled $1 billion from customers, with $300 million of that landing in the company's pockets

• Seven customers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of allowing an iTunes gift card scam to swindle almost $1 billion from people, per a Patently Apple report.
• The complaint, filed Friday, also pushes back against the company's claims that the funds are irretrievable.
• Regardless of how iTunes gift cards are obtained, Apple receives 30% in commission from apps purchased through its App Store.
• That means about $300 million of the alleged $1 billion in gift cards stolen and spent in the App Store would have ended up in the company's pockets.

Apple has been slapped with a class-action lawsuit from seven customers who are blaming the tech company for allowing an iTunes gift card scam to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from them, per a Patently Apple report.

This type of scam, in which someone posing as an IRS representative asks for payment via iTunes gift cards, has been targeting people for years, as Cult of Mac notes. So much so that it has a webpage devoted to warning customers of such schemes.

But the new lawsuit, filed Friday, accuses Apple of "knowingly and recklessly" enabling the iTunes gift card scam, according to the complaint.

It also says the company falsely claimed that the money scammed from customers in its entirety is irretrievable. Apple rakes in 30% in commission of all apps purchased through its App Store, including those paid for by stolen iTunes gift cards, which means Apple would have profited from the scam. The total amount of reported value scammed from customers is almost $1 billion, which means $300 million of that would have landed in Apple's pockets, according to the complaint.

Patently Apple also points out the company's policy in retaining purchases through the App Store for four to six weeks, during which time Apple could use the funds as repayment for the victims of the scam.

Apple did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the San Jose Division of the Northern District of California. You can view the complaint on Scribd here.