Apple App Store Stopped Fraudulent Transactions Worth A Whopping $1.5 Billion In 2021. Details

Apple's annual fraud prevention analysis report reveals big numbers as the tech giant protected users from nearly $1.5 billion worth of fraudulent transactions on the Apple App Store last year.

The App Store also stopped more than 1.6 million risky and vulnerable apps and app updates from defrauding users. Image: Apple

New Delhi: Apple's annual fraud prevention analysis report reveals big numbers as the tech giant protected users from nearly $1.5 billion worth of fraudulent transactions on the Apple App Store last year. The App Store also stopped more than 1.6 million risky and vulnerable apps and app updates from defrauding users, the iPhone maker announced in its second annual fraud prevention analysis report.

"Apple is dedicated to keeping the App Store a safe and trusted place for people to discover and download apps. A key pillar in that effort is Apple’s ongoing work detecting and taking action against bad actors who seek to defraud developers and users. Bad actors continue to evolve their methods of online fraud, often making their schemes harder to recognise. That is why Apple has continued to refine its processes, create new ones, and engineer solutions to take on these threats," the company said in a statement.

The company mentioned that it aims to prevent and reduce fraud on the App Store through continuous monitoring and vigilance across multiple teams. "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," the company added.

Over the past month alone, the tech giant has blocked more than 3.3 million instances of apps distributed illicitly through its "Enterprise Developer Program", which is designed to enable large organisations to develop and privately distribute their own apps for internal use. 

In 2021, Apple deactivated over 170 million customer accounts associated with fraudulent and abusive activity. If an account exhibits similar behaviours to those that have engaged in previous abuse, they’re deactivated before they can be used at all. In addition, more than 118 million attempted account creations were rejected in 2021 because they displayed patterns consistent with fraudulent and abusive activity.

Also, last year, Apple, with a combination of technology and human review, prevented more than 3.3 million stolen cards from being used to make potentially fraudulent purchases, and banned as many 600,000 accounts from transacting again.