Final week, Apple introduced that from 2020 by way of 2023 the corporate blocked greater than $7 billion in doubtlessly fraudulent transactions. Final yr, the tech big stopped greater than $1.8 billion in suspicious transactions from going by way of. Throughout the identical time interval, Apple additionally prevented greater than 14 million stolen bank cards and three.3 million accounts from conducting transactions with the App Retailer.
Apple not solely shot down makes an attempt to make use of fraud to pay for purchases within the App Retailer, it additionally stopped fraudulent apps from getting listed on the App Retailer. Final yr, over 1.7 million submissions for app listings have been rejected by Apple for failing to satisfy its requirements for privateness, safety, and content material. 248,000 requests for an App Retailer itemizing have been blocked by Apple as a result of the app was thought-about to be spam, a copycat app, or was designed to mislead customers.
Apple would not permit over 38,000 apps to get listed within the App Retailer as a result of that they had “hidden or undocumented options.” And greater than 375,000 apps have been rejected by Apple as a result of privateness violations. Essentially the most harmful apps are people who current themselves to be innocent however as soon as put in they rework into malicious apps.
Apple selling how nicely it protects App Retailer customers from fraud
Apple says, “Dangerous actors make use of misleading techniques to hurt customers, together with the follow of disguising doubtlessly dangerous apps as innocuous ones. Over the previous yr, there have been quite a few cases the place App Assessment recognized apps initially misrepresented as innocent merchandise — reminiscent of photograph editors or puzzle video games — that later reworked publish overview into pirate film streaming platforms, unlawful playing apps, or fraudulent and predatory mortgage issuers.”
Apple additionally mentions that there are harmful monetary companies apps which might be developed with the only goal of ripping off shoppers. These apps are additionally used to assist phishing campaigns by impersonating the reputable apps created by well-known firms. “By its ongoing work to overview each app submission and examine problematic apps on the App Retailer, App Assessment, in 2023, eliminated or rejected 40,000 apps from builders who engaged in bait-and-switch exercise,” Apple wrote in its Newsroom piece.
App Assessment will take motion in opposition to apps reported as fraudulent or malicious by these utilizing Apple’s “Report a Drawback” function. Such apps are instantly faraway from the App Retailer and the app’s developer faces termination from the Apple Developer Program. Final yr, Apple says that App Assessment prevented near 98,000 fraudulent apps from turning into out there to App Retailer customers.
Many guests to the App Retailer base their shopping for choices on an app’s scores and evaluations which makes them a useful gizmo for unhealthy actors in search of to get the unsuspecting public to put in a malicious app. In 2023, Apple processed over 1.1 billion scores and evaluations with practically 152 million fraudulent scores and evaluations faraway from the App Retailer.
Apple’s purpose in telling you this isn’t simply to brag in regards to the methods it has in place to stop App Retailer fraud, but in addition to make you’re feeling protected and safe when putting in an app, or making an in-app buy through the App Retailer.
