Apple’s App Store Blocked Over $2 Billion in Fraud Last Year

app store fraud

Apple made a few press release announcements today, which seemingly would be updates provided at its upcoming developer conference, WWDC slated for next month. The news made available today appears to likely shave time off its WWDC keynote to focus on other more important news, such as product announcements (a $3,000 USD headset anyone?).

The latest news talks about the App Store and how it’s been able to stop fraud in a big way last year, again.

Since its launch in 2008, the App Store now attracts over 650 million weekly visitors worldwide and provides over 36 million registered Apple developers with a global distribution platform that supports over 195 local payment methods and 44 currencies.

In 2022, the App Store made a significant stride in ensuring a secure environment by preventing over $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions. The platform also rejected almost 1.7 million app submissions that did not meet the required standards for privacy, security, and content, says Apple.

Apple rooted out 428,000 developer accounts and 282,000 customer accounts linked to fraudulent activities. The iPhone maker says it has continuously improved its systems to detect and eliminate account fraud swiftly. This initiative led to the termination of 802,000 developer accounts in 2021, decreasing to 428,000 in 2022, thanks to the implementation of new fraud prevention methods.

Furthermore, Apple disabled nearly 57,000 untrustworthy apps from unauthorized marketplaces and blocked approximately 3.9 million attempts to install illicit apps through the Developer Enterprise Program in just one month.

The App Store’s defence against unsafe apps became more robust in 2022. Apple performed various safety checks on every app, rejecting close to 1.7 million submissions due to various concerns, including fraud and privacy. Among these were 153,000 apps found to be spam, copycats, or misleading, and nearly 29,000 submissions were rejected for containing hidden or undocumented features.

In 2022, Apple processed over 1 billion ratings and reviews, blocking and removing more than 147 million fraudulent ones.

2022 saw Apple blocking a record $2 billion in fraudulent transactions and banning 714,000 fraudulent accounts from making transactions. The company blocked nearly 3.9 million stolen credit cards from being used for fraudulent purchases.

“Apple’s work to keep the App Store a safe and trusted place for users and developers is never done. As bad actors evolve their dishonest tactics and methods of deception, Apple supplements its antifraud initiatives with feedback gleaned from a myriad of channels — from news stories to social media to AppleCare calls,” it concluded.

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