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Get five free songs on iTunes with your American Express card
If you have an American Express card, the company wants to give you five songs on iTunes for free. Just hit up this URL and enter your card information (we double-checked -- it's an official deal, not a scam), and then whenever you buy five songs on iTunes with the same card, you'll get refunded the price. Nice bonus for the weekend, if you happen to be an AmEx card holder. It's also an interesting way to get you to use your AmEx for iTunes purchases. If you've been meaning to pick up The Beatles ever since their music finally appeared on the store, now's your chance. Enjoy! [via TMO]
Amex mulls iPhone purchase rebate policy
Readers report that calls to the American Express Return Protection line (1-800-297-8019) are being met with mixed results. Some readers say they are now accepting claims concerning the $200 dollar iPhone price drop, others have had less luck When I called, I was told that customers would be sent to a claims examiner to determine whether the difference in purchase price would be covered. I placed a call to Molly Faust, the American Express Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications for U.S. Consumer Card and Customer Service Delivery. She told me that she was already looking into this matter and promised to get back to me. According to one TUAW reader, a protection-line operator said "the number of calls we've received about this is utterly insane." More as this develops.Update: Molly Faust contacted me again and says to emphasize that this is being handled on a case-by-case basis and that the refunds are not an official program or policy.
Deal of the Day: PSP Entertainment Pack for $185 [Update 1]
American Express members can get access to a fantastic deal. Their "My Wishlist" promotion allows cardmembers to buy products at heavily discounted prices, such as a Porsche for $5,000 or a Blu-Ray player for $475. PSP fans will be most interested in the Entertainment Pack, which includes the system, ATV Offroad Fury, one movie UMD and a 1GB Memory Stick for only $185. You may already have a system, but let's not forget that the holidays are just around the corner.[Update 1: Deal is dead. Looks like people really want a PSP... as long as the price is right. Sony, you hear us?]
Researchers hack RFID credit cards. Big surprise.
RFID has been riddled with so many problems, it's amazing that anyone even has a shred of confidence in this technology at all. Our latest security problem du jour is that credit card companies are apparently issuing plastic that relays your digits wirelessly; as you might have guessed, security researchers are checking into this, and in a demonstration for The New York Times, easily hacked a University of Massachusetts computer science professor's newfangled RFID credit card. In short order (and with his permission), a researcher working with RSA Labs was able to steal the professor's name and credit card number that was being transmitted in cleartext -- thereby poking massive holes in Visa, MasterCard and American Express' claims that these card include "the highest level of encryption allowed by the U.S. government." Predictably, the credit card companies have already dismissed claims that the populus will be greatly affected by this hack. Brian Triplett, senior vice president for emerging-product development for Visa, told the Gray Lady: "This is an interesting technical exercise, but as a real threat to a consumer - that threat really doesn't exist." Well, Brian, care to put your plastic where your mouth is?[Via TechDirt]
