Walled Garden, Fortified: Apple Blocks $9B in App Store Fraud as Scrutiny Mounts

Apple recently disclosed a detailed breakdown of its ongoing efforts to combat fraud across its App Store ecosystem, emphasizing the significant scale and evolving sophistication of threats targeting both developers and users. The company says it prevented over $9 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions over the past five years, including more than $2 billion in 2024 alone—a record high.

Key Highlights from Apple’s 2024 App Store Fraud Report:

Fraudulent Activity Prevention

• $2 billion+ in fraudulent transactions prevented in 2024.

• Over $9 billion stopped since 2020.

• 4.7 million stolen credit cards identified and blocked.

• 1.6 million+ accounts banned from transacting again.

Developer and App Vetting

• 46,000 developer accounts terminated for fraud.

• 139,000 developer enrollments rejected before apps were submitted.

• 1.9 million app submissions rejected due to security, privacy, and fraud concerns.

• 37,000+ apps removed for fraudulent activity.

• 43,000+ app submissions rejected for containing hidden/undocumented features.

• 320,000+ apps rejected for being misleading/spam.

• 400,000 apps rejected over privacy violations.

User Account Monitoring

• 711 million fake customer accounts blocked from being created.

• 129 million accounts deactivated for potential abuse (e.g., spam, manipulation of reviews or charts).

App Store Manipulation Prevention

• 7,400+ fraudulent apps removed from App Store charts.

• 9,500 deceptive apps removed from search results.

• 143 million+ fake ratings and reviews removed.

Illegitimate App Distribution

• 10,000+ malicious apps blocked from pirate storefronts.

• 4.6 million installation attempts of illicit apps stopped.

Context & Competitive Landscape

Apple’s transparency comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny over its App Store policies and control. Notably, a recent U.S. court ruling has required Apple to allow iOS apps to direct users to external payment methods, a move that could reduce its ability to enforce security controls tied to in-app purchases.

This report also arrives shortly after Google’s own disclosure, where it blocked 2.36 million policy-violating apps and banned 158,000 developer accounts from Google Play in 2024.

Bottom Line

Apple is positioning its App Store as a security-first environment—an argument it’s likely to continue using as justification for its tight ecosystem controls, even as regulators and competitors push for more openness and third-party access.

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