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

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

purplerainpurplerain Avatar
15 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
15 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
15 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
15 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
15 months ago
Are they counting Epic Games as part of that $7 billion?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
15 months ago
That is a lot of saving. Good on Apple for doing all they can.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)