Apple Thwarts $9 Billion in Fraud Over Five Years as App Store Threats Mount

28.05.2025

Apple announced on Tuesday that it has prevented over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions over the past five years, including more than $2 billion in 2024 alone. The company highlighted the increasing complexity of threats targeting the App Store, ranging from malicious apps to elaborate payment fraud schemes.

To safeguard users, Apple said it took significant enforcement actions throughout 2024. This included terminating over 46,000 developer accounts tied to fraud and rejecting more than 139,000 suspicious enrollment attempts. Additionally, more than 1.9 million app submissions were declined for issues related to security, reliability, privacy violations, or fraud.

Apple also cracked down on user account fraud, blocking over 711 million attempted account creations and deactivating nearly 129 million existing accounts that showed signs of abuse—such as spamming, manipulating reviews, or distorting search rankings. Over 143 million fake ratings and reviews were also removed to preserve the credibility of the App Store.

Beyond its store, Apple reported it blocked nearly 10,000 rogue apps found on pirate platforms, stopped 4.6 million attempts to sideload unverified apps, and banned over 1.6 million accounts for using stolen credit cards.

These efforts come as Apple faces mounting scrutiny over its App Store policies and competition. The company’s annual fraud analysis follows a similar report by Google, which also revealed large-scale enforcement actions to protect users across the Android ecosystem.