Apple says it blocked $1.5B in fraudulent App Store transactions, 1.6M risky apps

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in General Discussion edited June 2022
Apple says that its App Store safety mechanisms stopped nearly $1.5 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions and kept 1.6 million "problematic apps" away from customers.

App Store
App Store


The report, released on Wednesday, is a followup to a previous inaugural fraud prevention analysis that the company published in 2021.

According to the two reports, Apple stopped the same amount of fraudulent transactions -- $1.5 billion -- in 2020 and 2021. It appears that Apple has successfully clamped down on problematic apps, since it blocked 1 million in 2020 and 1.6 million in 2021.

Throughout 2021, Apple said it detected and blocked more than 94 million fake reviews and 170 million ratings for "failing to meet moderation status." It also removed another 610,000 reviews that were detected through customer reports or human evaluation.

Apple's App Store anti-fraud statistics
Apple's App Store anti-fraud statistics


Apple also terminated 802,000 developer accounts for fraudulent activity and rejected 153,000 over similar concerns. It also blocked 63,500 illegitimate apps on "pirate storefronts."

As a result of its human review and automated mechanisms, the iPhone maker also stopped more than 3.3 million stolen credit cares from being used to make potentially fraudulent transactions. It also banned nearly 600,000 accounts from making transactions again.

"Apple's efforts to prevent and reduce fraud on the App Store require continuous monitoring and vigilance across multiple teams," Apple wrote. "From App Review to Discovery Fraud, Apple's ongoing commitment to protect users from fraudulent app activity demonstrates once again why independent, respected security experts have said the App Store is the safest place to find and download apps."

In addition to the updated numbers, the report again highlights the kind of protections that Apple uses to protect App Store customers. That includes App Store Review, payment and credit card protections, and anti-account fraud mechanisms.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,331member
    So, once Apple is forced to open the iPhone to alternate app stores will Apple be able to get rid of any fraudulent apps from these (fraudulent) app stores? Probably not. 
    jas99viclauyycstevenozscstrrfbloggerblogwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 2 of 15
    xyzzy-xxxxyzzy-xxx Posts: 208member
    rob53 said:
    So, once Apple is forced to open the iPhone to alternate app stores will Apple be able to get rid of any fraudulent apps from these (fraudulent) app stores? Probably not. 
    Well, if you buy from other stores, these stores will need to compete with Apple and earn a reputation to prevent spam apps. On the other hand, many privacy violations were never stopped by the App Store (like pasteboard sniffing or bugs in iOS that enabled spyware) but fixed directly in iOS. These fixes will work for any software, regardless from which source installed!
    edited June 2022
    asdasdelijahg
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  • Reply 3 of 15
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,103member
    rob53 said:
    So, once Apple is forced to open the iPhone to alternate app stores will Apple be able to get rid of any fraudulent apps from these (fraudulent) app stores? Probably not. 
    Apple hasn't stopped this activity. It is impossible to stop. You can only take action to mitigate the wider impact try to keep numbers down. 

    Other stores could do a worse job at this. They could also do a better job. That has to be seen. That said, Apple would have no right to meddle in a third party app store. 

    Any store that is demonstrably proven to be a seething mass of malware will not be a success. The Google Play Store is not an example of this by the way. 


    muthuk_vanalingamelijahgctt_zh
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  • Reply 4 of 15
    avon b7 said:

    Any store that is demonstrably proven to be a seething mass of malware will not be a success.  The Google Play Store is not an example of this by the way. 


    Many here and around the world would insist that the Play Store is a perfect example of a successful seething mass of malware.  Care to share some evidence as to why it’s not? 
    crowleybloggerblogjas99watto_cobra
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  • Reply 5 of 15
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,150member
    What is scary is that one does not hear anything about how Android stops such fraud.  Is it because people know's that Android's wild-west attitude invites this kind of fraud and is accepted as the status-quo?

    I hope Apple is doing everything it can to prevent governments from forcing it to open iOS to bad players.
    rob53bloggerblogjas99watto_cobrajony0
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  • Reply 6 of 15
    Er, no mention of false positives on review detection. I know I’ve had honest reviews removed. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 15
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,744member
    The average joe may not attribute being ripped off to a third party operaa as ting a store, but simply attribute this to the overall iPhone experience and hence blame Apple. 
    welshdogjas99watto_cobraJanNLjony0
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  • Reply 8 of 15
    CheeseFreezecheesefreeze Posts: 1,372member
    That’s great for Apple!

    This will be a valuable consideration for consumers when they are allowed to pick the store they want to download/install content from, or opt to download the content directly.

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  • Reply 9 of 15
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,544member
    Many of us use Apple devices and services because they handle all the busybody problems so we can do what we wanna do without much worry or friction. 
    I used MacOS, DOS, and Windows since the 80’s. Guess which platform I never purchased an antivirus app for
    jas99watto_cobrajony0
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  • Reply 10 of 15
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,103member
    avon b7 said:

    Any store that is demonstrably proven to be a seething mass of malware will not be a success.  The Google Play Store is not an example of this by the way. 


    Many here and around the world would insist that the Play Store is a perfect example of a successful seething mass of malware.  Care to share some evidence as to why it’s not? 
    The evidence is that the entire Android universe hasn't fallen foul to ransomware and locked devices. 

    Isn't that spectacularly obvious? 

    If it were that easy to get through Google's defences there would be no stopping the criminals and the whole world would know about it. 

    That clearly isn't the case and I have yet to meet an Android user that has come unstuck through malware. 

    That does not mean it does not exist, just that it isn't a seething mass. 
    muthuk_vanalingamelijahgctt_zh
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 15
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,544member
    avon b7 said:
    avon b7 said:

    Any store that is demonstrably proven to be a seething mass of malware will not be a success.  The Google Play Store is not an example of this by the way. 


    Many here and around the world would insist that the Play Store is a perfect example of a successful seething mass of malware.  Care to share some evidence as to why it’s not? 
    The evidence is that the entire Android universe hasn't fallen foul to ransomware and locked devices. 

    Isn't that spectacularly obvious? 

    If it were that easy to get through Google's defences there would be no stopping the criminals and the whole world would know about it. 

    That clearly isn't the case and I have yet to meet an Android user that has come unstuck through malware. 

    That does not mean it does not exist, just that it isn't a seething mass. 

     https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-mobile-android-vs-ios-which-is-more-secure.html

    Some snippets from the article.

    "owners of both Android and iOS devices need to be aware of possible malware and viruses, and be careful when downloading apps from third-party app stores. It’s safest to download apps from trusted sources, such as Google Play and the Apple App Store, which vet the apps they sell."
    "Apple doesn’t release its source code to app developers, and the owners of iPhones and iPads can't easily modify the code on their phones themselves. This makes it more difficult for hackers to find vulnerabilities on iOS-powered devices."
    "Android devices are the opposite, relying on an open-source code, meaning that the owners of these devices can tinker with the operating system of their phones and tablets. ... Then there are manufacturers themselves. If a phone maker puts out a new device with a modification to the Android operating system and there’s a vulnerability in that code, hackers will find it."
    "Android devices, then, are more at risk of the malware and viruses that these criminals unleash."

    There are plenty of sources out there as well as experiences from friends and family. My contact info got exposed several times from family members with Android devices, how do I know? Some of the recipients in the "Send to:" are friends who only exist in their Android contacts. Every Android device owner I know, has antivirus installed on their device. Why have to deal with all that, I 100% prefer a walled garden. Which is something Google is working on, they're aping the iOS ecosystem.
    watto_cobrajony0
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  • Reply 12 of 15
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    avon b7 said:

    Any store that is demonstrably proven to be a seething mass of malware will not be a success.  The Google Play Store is not an example of this by the way. 
    Many here and around the world would insist that the Play Store is a perfect example of a successful seething mass of malware.  Care to share some evidence as to why it’s not? 
    Proving the negative is not normally the way it’s done. Innocent until proven guilty.
    elijahgctt_zh
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  • Reply 13 of 15
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,919member
    This information kind of makes complaints about the "walled garden"model seem less relevant.
    edited June 2022
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 15
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,103member
    avon b7 said:
    avon b7 said:

    Any store that is demonstrably proven to be a seething mass of malware will not be a success.  The Google Play Store is not an example of this by the way. 


    Many here and around the world would insist that the Play Store is a perfect example of a successful seething mass of malware.  Care to share some evidence as to why it’s not? 
    The evidence is that the entire Android universe hasn't fallen foul to ransomware and locked devices. 

    Isn't that spectacularly obvious? 

    If it were that easy to get through Google's defences there would be no stopping the criminals and the whole world would know about it. 

    That clearly isn't the case and I have yet to meet an Android user that has come unstuck through malware. 

    That does not mean it does not exist, just that it isn't a seething mass. 

     https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-mobile-android-vs-ios-which-is-more-secure.html

    Some snippets from the article.

    "owners of both Android and iOS devices need to be aware of possible malware and viruses, and be careful when downloading apps from third-party app stores. It’s safest to download apps from trusted sources, such as Google Play and the Apple App Store, which vet the apps they sell."
    "Apple doesn’t release its source code to app developers, and the owners of iPhones and iPads can't easily modify the code on their phones themselves. This makes it more difficult for hackers to find vulnerabilities on iOS-powered devices."
    "Android devices are the opposite, relying on an open-source code, meaning that the owners of these devices can tinker with the operating system of their phones and tablets. ... Then there are manufacturers themselves. If a phone maker puts out a new device with a modification to the Android operating system and there’s a vulnerability in that code, hackers will find it."
    "Android devices, then, are more at risk of the malware and viruses that these criminals unleash."

    There are plenty of sources out there as well as experiences from friends and family. My contact info got exposed several times from family members with Android devices, how do I know? Some of the recipients in the "Send to:" are friends who only exist in their Android contacts. Every Android device owner I know, has antivirus installed on their device. Why have to deal with all that, I 100% prefer a walled garden. Which is something Google is working on, they're aping the iOS ecosystem.
    I can tell you (as I have contacts in data centers supporting critical infrastructure) that Android is the most common handset used by employees handling security, maintenance and support support of the systems.

    Systems that include hardware from Google (caged of course) and housing services from all the major carriers here. Plus health and science (including petabytes of data from CERN) and DNA banks. 

    All the major banking systems provide apps for Android. They would be the first to jump ship if the system was so insecure. 

    Android is built atop open source software. So is iOS. 

    Neither Google nor Android vendors that add specific features to the system, make them 100% open source. They are as closed as Apple's in that sense. 

    Either way, I'd prefer open source software for critical kernel operations over closed source software. 

    I don't know about Apple and 'antivirus' but it is probably running all kinds of AI based scanning on apps available via the Apple App Store. If they aren't running checks on shipping apps I would be very surprised. 

    They are probably running all kinds of checks in an effort to flag apps that behave in a questionable manner which is invisible to the user. 

    Not sure what Android system security has to do with a subject that is referring to how malware reaches the handset. The Google Play Store. 


    muthuk_vanalingamctt_zh
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