The App Store prevented more than $9 billion in fraudulent transactions

May 27, 2025

UPDATE

The App Store has safeguarded users by preventing over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions over the past five years.

In 2024, Apple alone thwarted more than $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions and blocked approximately 2 million suspicious app submissions.

Since its launch in 2008, the App Store has served as a secure environment for users and a thriving platform for developers globally. The App Store’s ongoing commitment to safety has culminated in a protection of over $9 billion in fraudulent activities in the past five years. This includes the significant figure of over $2 billion in 2024, as highlighted in Apple’s annual fraud analysis. This commitment emphasizes Apple’s focus on providing the most secure experience while equipping developers with helpful tools and resources, ensuring safe transactions in 175 regions worldwide. With an average of over 813 million weekly visits, the App Store remains a reliable source for users to download their favorite and discover new applications.

Maintaining a secure App Store requires constant diligence, as fraudsters continually adapt their methods. Threats range from misleading apps that seek to siphon personal information to fraudulent payment schemes designed to exploit users. Apple adopts a holistic strategy to combat fraud, with various teams dedicated to detecting, investigating, and preventing malicious activities before they reach customers.

Account Fraud

Apple’s robust antifraud system swiftly flags and removes malicious developer and customer accounts. In 2024, Apple terminated over 146,000 developer accounts due to fraud concerns and rejected nearly 139,000 developer enrollments, preventing potential bad actors from submitting apps to the App Store.

Additionally, the company rejected over 711 million customer account creations and deactivated about 129 million accounts last year, blocking these suspicious accounts from engaging in harmful activities, including rating manipulation and chart manipulation that jeopardize the App Store’s integrity.

This safety commitment extends beyond the App Store as Apple actively works to block risky software from pirate websites. In 2024, over 10,000 illegitimate apps were detected and blocked, including malware and pirated versions of legitimate apps. By restricting these rogue storefronts, Apple also protects developers from having their apps cloned or used maliciously.

In the past month alone, Apple thwarted nearly 4.6 million attempts to install or launch apps distributed illegally outside the App Store or unapproved marketplaces.

App Review

Every app submitted for the App Store undergoes thorough vetting by Apple’s App Review team, who are well-versed in the App Review Guidelines and focused on meeting Apple’s quality and safety standards. This team reviews almost 150,000 submissions weekly, facilitating the introduction of new apps and updates. In 2024, they assisted over 220,000 developers in publishing their first app on the App Store.

App Review combines human oversight and automated systems to identify potentially harmful apps. In 2024, out of 7.7 million submissions reviewed, more than 1.9 million were rejected due to security, reliability, or user experience concerns, including privacy and fraud violations.

Fraudulent developers often attempt various tactics to bypass these safeguards and submit harmful apps. The App Review team actively removes any identified malicious apps, and investigations into one fraudulent app can often lead to the removal of additional apps linked to the same developer. In 2024, App Review eliminated over 37,000 apps for fraudulent activity.

Common tactics include hiding harmful features that activate after passing App Review. Apple monitors against this behavior, rejecting over 43,000 submissions last year for containing hidden features. Additionally, the team took action against apps attempting to deceive users, rejecting over 320,000 submissions for copying other apps or misleading users.

Apps that access personal data without permission are strictly prohibited. In 2024, the App Review team rejected 400,000 submissions for privacy violations.

Discovery Fraud

Apple acts decisively against apps that attempt to manipulate their rankings on the App Store, such as using bots or paid services to boost download numbers or post fake reviews.

In 2024, Apple processed over 1.2 billion reviews and ratings, removing more than 143 million fraudulent entries. Apple also eliminated over 7,400 apps from charts and nearly 9,500 deceptive apps from search results, benefitting reputable developers by ensuring a fair marketplace.

Payment and Credit Card Fraud

Apple diligently safeguards users against scams and payment threats, preventing over $2 billion in fraudulent transactions in 2024.

In regards to credit card fraud, Apple employs a unique transaction code and device-specific number for purchases via Apple Pay, ensuring card information remains secure. Moreover, credit and debit card numbers are never disclosed to developers, reducing risk. Last year, Apple identified nearly 4.7 million stolen credit cards and banned over 1.6 million accounts from future transactions.

Apple also offers developers access to advanced payment technologies, including Apple Pay and StoreKit, utilized by over 420,000 apps to ensure secure transactions on the App Store.

By utilizing StoreKit, developers can offer secure in-app purchases, providing users with a trusted environment designed to protect privacy and simplify purchase management. Each transaction is authenticated via a user’s Apple ID, supported by a leading fraud protection system and end-to-end encryption.

GSMTINZ.com

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The App Store prevented more than $9 billion in fraudulent transactions