With plenty of free slots left after registering their own UDIDs, some “developers” whom pay the $99 fee for early access are selling off the additional spaces to make a quick profit from non-developers or users whom seek to get into the program at a discount, or to play with the iOS 5 betas early. With so many non-developers having early access, and Apple generally being quiet about NDA breakage, AppleInsider reports that Apple is specifically targeting these “crooks”, shutting down developers who sold their excess slots by closing their accounts (and sending devs a cease and desist via email). Apple is also going as far as flagging UDIDs associated with these accounts, and locking down the iOS devices to render them unusable.

“Once Apple locks your iOS device, the phone will enter the initial setup mode asking you to connect to a WiFi network,” the report said. “And nothing happens more than that.”

AppleInsider points out that websites have grown up around Apple’s developer program, allowing users to use PayPal to sign up for one of the empty slots to get their devices registered. Only developers are supposed to have access to the beta, with the public having access to iOS 5 with a final release this fall.

[KatharikK.net via AppleInsider]