App Store Stopped Over $2 Bn Worth Fraudulent Transactions In 2022: Apple

Apple on Wednesday said the App Store prevented more than USD 2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions and rejected nearly 1.7 million app submissions for failing to meet the App Store’s standards.

Last year, Apple blocked nearly 3.9 million stolen credit cards from being used to make fraudulent purchases, and banned 7,14,000 accounts from transacting again. In total, Apple blocked USD 2.09 billion in fraudulent transactions on the App Store in 2022.

In 2022, the iPhone-maker rooted out 4,28,000 developer accounts. The company had terminated over 8,02,000 developer accounts for potentially fraudulent activity in 2021. 

Apple said that the decline of weeding out of fraudulent accounts dropped in 2022 due to new methods and protocols that allow the App Store to prevent the creation of potentially fraudulent accounts. Additionally, nearly 1,05,000 Apple Developer Program enrolments were rejected for suspected fraudulent activities, preventing these bad actors from submitting apps to the App Store.

Last year, the company said it protected users from nearly 57,000 untrustworthy apps from illegitimate storefronts, which do not have the same built-in privacy and security protections as the App Store. 

In the last 30 days alone, the Cupertino-based company blocked close to 3.9 million attempts to install or launch apps distributed illicitly through the Developer Enterprise Program, which allows large organisations to deploy internal apps for use by employees.

In 2022, Apple also disabled over 282 million customer accounts associated with fraudulent and abusive activity. Meanwhile, 198 million attempted fraudulent new accounts were blocked before they could even be created.

Having reviewed more than 6.1 million app submissions in 2022, Apple’s App Review helped more than 1,85,000 developers publish their very first app on the App Store, and made over 20,000 phone calls to developers to help them diagnose and resolve issues that led to an app submission rejection. 

In 2022, nearly 1.7 million app submissions were rejected from the App Store for various reasons, including concerns related to fraud and privacy. In more than one case this year, App Review caught apps using malicious code with the potential to steal users’ credentials from third-party services. In other instances, the App Review team identified several apps that disguised themselves as innocuous financial management platforms but had the capability to morph into another app. Nearly 24,000 apps were blocked or removed from the App Store for bait-and-switch violations such as these in 2022.

Apple said it also processed over 1 billion ratings and reviews processed in 2022 and blocked and removed more than 147 million ratings and reviews for failing to meet moderation standards.