Apple Says It Stopped $7 Billion in Fraudulent Transactions in Last 4 Years

Apple today shared its fourth annual fraud prevention analysis, providing insight into how the App Store's rules protect users from fraudulent apps and other security issues.

app store fraud 2024
Apple says that it prevented over $1.8 billion in fraudulent transactions in 2023 alone, and $7 billion during the period from 2020 to 2023. Apple blocked more than 14 million stolen credit cards and banned more than 3.3 million accounts from further transactions.

Over 1.7 million apps were rejected in 2023 for not meeting Apple's standards for privacy, security, and content. 118,000 developer accounts were terminated, down from 428,000 last year. The drop came from new efforts to prevent the creation of fraudulent accounts in the first place, plus more than 91,000 developer enrollments were rejected for fraud concerns.

More than 153 million fraudulent customer accounts were blocked, and close to 374 million developer and customer accounts were terminated. Apple says that it detected and blocked 47,000 illegitimate apps on pirate storefronts, and stopped almost 3.8 million attempts to install or launch apps that were illicitly distributed through the Enterprise Program.

The app review team reviewed 6.9 million app submissions in 2023, and helped 192,000 developers publish their first apps on the ‌App Store‌. Apple says that there has been an uptick in apps that misrepresented themselves as non-harmful products and later transformed into pirate movie streaming platforms or illegal gambling apps, which the ‌App Store‌ team has worked to block.

Some financial service apps involved in "complex and malicious" social engineering efforts to defraud users were identified and removed, and Apple says a total of 40,000 apps were pulled for bait and switch activity. Another 38,000 apps were rejected for undocumented or hidden features, and 375,000 apps were rejected for privacy violations.

Apple's report comes following changes in the European Union that have allowed for apps to be installed outside of the ‌App Store‌, skirting some of the app review process. Apps distributed from alternative app marketplaces or websites must undergo a safety notarization process, but Apple does not check for content. Apple has claimed that downloading apps outside of the ‌App Store‌ will put users at risk for scams, fraud, and privacy issues.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1

Monday September 22, 2025 10:05 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The new betas are the first updates to the iOS, iPadOS, macOS 26, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS releases that came out last week. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going...

Top Rated Comments

purplerainpurplerain Avatar
18 months ago
They won’t be able to save all the EU side loaders who give credit card details to Iamalegitcompanypromise Bahamas Limited.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xiJulian_ Avatar
18 months ago
do people in this comment section realize that no one is forcing you to sideload apps? the app store isn't going anywhere
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anonymous123 Avatar
18 months ago

do people in this comment section realize that no one is forcing you to sideload apps? the app store isn't going anywhere
Exactly. Downloading an app through alternative channels is entirely optional. Anyone against this is against users having a choice. Users can still use the traditional App Store if they have any security/privacy concerns.

It’s been said before by others and I’ll say it again, it’s been like this on macOS for forever and no one made a big deal about it. User choice is a good thing and this report is clearly a move to promote their own ecosystem.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
18 months ago
Have fun downloading apps from 3rd party stores.
The numbers detailed in this article are jaw dropping
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mystery hill Avatar
18 months ago
Are they counting Epic Games as part of that $7 billion?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
18 months ago
That is a lot of saving. Good on Apple for doing all they can.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)