Over the last five years, the iPhone maker’s App Store has protected users by preventing over $9 … More
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The Apple App store is part of the iPhone maker’s so-called “walled garden,” so it’s pretty secure when compared to its Google Android counterpart.
The figures confirm this: Over the last five years, the iPhone maker’s App Store has protected users by preventing over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions, including over $2 billion in 2024 alone, according to Apple’s annual App Store fraud analysis.
So what exactly are fraudulent transactions? According to Apple, threats range from deceptive apps designed to steal personal information, to fraudulent payment schemes that attempt to exploit users.
In a press release announcing the stats, Apple said it employs “a comprehensive approach to combating fraud on the App Store, with teams across the company working to detect, investigate and prevent malicious activity before it can reach users.”
For example, Apple is making sure malicious developer and customer accounts are “swiftly flagged and eliminated.”
In 2024, Apple terminated more than 146,000 developer accounts over fraud concerns and rejected an additional 139,000 developer enrollments, preventing bad actors from submitting their apps to the App Store in the first place, the iPhone maker claimed.
In 2024, Apple detected and blocked over 10,000 illegitimate apps on pirate storefronts, which include malware, pornography apps, gambling apps, and pirated versions of legitimate apps from the App Store.
“By restricting these storefronts, Apple also protects developers from having their apps cloned, altered or weaponised for spreading malicious software,” Apple said.
Over the past month, Apple has also stopped nearly 4.6 million attempts to install or launch apps distributed illicitly outside the App Store or approved third-party marketplaces, the iPhone maker claimed.
Before any app makes its way onto the App Store, it is vetted by a member of Apple’s App Review team. With over 7.7 million App Store submissions reviewed in 2024, more than 1.9 million were rejected for failing to meet Apple’s standards for security, reliability, and user experience, including for privacy violations or fraud concerns.
In 2024, App Review removed more than 37,000 apps for fraudulent activity.
Sophisticated Threats Targeting iPhones
“Apple’s report highlighting the prevention of $2 billion in App Store fraud is a clear signal of both the rising sophistication of mobile threats and the strength of Apple’s security model,” says Adam Boynton, senior security strategy manager EMEIA at Jamf.
He points out that criminals are increasingly turning to fake apps, ranking manipulation, and social engineering to exploit users.
However, as threats continue to evolve, particularly with the rise of advanced malware and targeted attacks such as spyware, organizations must look beyond app vetting alone and secure the entire device experience, says Boynton.
Apple is certainly shouting about its ability to tackle fraud and the iPhone maker is doing a god job, according to the stats. Yet securing your iPhone is not as simple as relying on Apple. Ensure you always update your iPhone to the latest operating system — currently iOS 18.5 — when it becomes available.
At the same time, check the apps you download, including any reviews that might help you spot red flags. Regularly go through the apps on your device, check their permissions and ensure you delete any you aren’t using to keep your iPhone safe.
