Apple prevented over $2 billion in fraudulent transactions last year alone: Report

Apple prevented over $2 billion last year and over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions in the past five years, shared the iPhone-maker in its annual App Store fraud prevention analysis.

The Apple App Store that sees an average of more than 813 million visitors a week has to ensure the safety of both developer and customer accounts, not to mention securing the process of vetting apps and customer reviews.

Apple said that in 2024 it terminated more than 146,000 developer accounts over fraud concerns, while rejecting an additional 139,000 developer enrolments. On the customer front, the company rejected more than 711 million customer account creations and deactivated nearly 129 million customer accounts, per the annual App Store fraud prevention analysis.

“Preserving the App Store’s safe and secure marketplace requires constant vigilance, as bad actors continue to evolve their tactics in an attempt to defraud users. These threats range from deceptive apps designed to steal personal information, to fraudulent payment schemes that attempt to exploit users,” stated Apple.

The company also has to track down criminal activity unfolding outside of its marketplace. Last year, Apple said it detected and blocked more than 10,000 illegitimate apps that were made available through pirate storefronts. Their contents included pornography apps, gambling, and stolen versions of legitimate App Store applications.

Last year saw Apple processing over 1.2 billion ratings and reviews. The company removed more than 143 million fraudulent ratings and reviews from its app marketplace, as well as more than 7,400 apps from App Store charts and around 9,500 deceptive apps from the App Store search results.

“Apple will continue to build on its commitment to provide users with the safest and most secure experience on the App Store, which includes empowering users with resources to get help and report suspected fraud,” shared Apple in its report.