Apple has revealed that its App Store thwarted over RM38 billion (US$9 billion) in fraudulent transactions globally over the past five years, with more than RM8.9 billion (US$2 billion) blocked in 2024 alone. The findings, released in Apple’s annual App Store fraud analysis, highlight the company’s continued investment in keeping the platform a safe and trusted environment for users and developers alike.

Since its launch in 2008, the App Store has become a central hub for digital commerce, visited by over 813 million people weekly. With the growing sophistication of digital threats, Apple maintains a vigilant, multi-layered defence strategy to protect users from scams, malicious apps, and fraud.

In 2024, Apple terminated more than 146,000 developer accounts linked to fraud and blocked a further 139,000 fraudulent registration attempts. On the user side, the company prevented over 711 million suspicious customer account creations and deactivated nearly 129 million accounts suspected of spam or manipulation.

The company’s App Review team, which vets every app before it appears on the store, reviewed over 7.7 million submissions last year, rejecting more than 1.9 million that failed to meet safety, security, or user experience standards. This included over 43,000 apps with hidden or undocumented features and more than 320,000 that were identified as spam, deceptive, or copycats of legitimate apps.

Fraudulent developers also attempted to bypass protections by submitting apps with concealed features that activated only after approval. Apple detected and blocked these efforts, along with over 17,000 apps employing bait-and-switch tactics. Additionally, 400,000 app submissions were rejected for violating user privacy by attempting to access data without consent.

Payment security remains a priority, with Apple Pay and StoreKit providing over 420,000 apps with robust transaction tools. In 2024 alone, Apple blocked nearly 4.7 million stolen credit cards and banned over 1.6 million accounts from further transactions. Every purchase on the App Store is authenticated, encrypted, and monitored by Apple’s advanced fraud detection systems.

Apple’s report comes at a time when mobile commerce and digital payments are gaining ground in markets such as Malaysia. The company’s efforts reflect a broader push across the industry to address fraud risks as more transactions move online.

(Source: Apple)

• TAGS:
• Apple
• Apple App Store
• Apple Pay
• Fraudulent Transactions
• Scams