Apple today released its annual fraud prevention report, detailing the App Store’s strong security safeguards to keep consumers safe from fraudulent apps and transactions. According to the analysis, Apple blocked more than $1.8 billion in potentially fraudulent App Store transactions in 2023 alone, as well as a stunning $7 billion over the previous four years from 2020 to 2023.
In 2023, Apple prevented the usage of more than 14 million stolen credit cards and barred over 3.3 million accounts from future purchases as part of its ongoing anti-fraud operations. In addition, the business rejected 1.7 million app submissions that did not match its tough privacy, security, and content guidelines.
“Our relentless efforts to maintain the integrity of the App Store ecosystem have resulted in significant wins for our users’ security and privacy,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We remain committed to staying ahead of these threats through continued innovation and collaboration with developers.”
Apple’s report also revealed that 118,000 developer accounts were terminated in 2023, a substantial decrease from 428,000 the previous year. This improvement was attributed to new fraud prevention measures that blocked the creation of fraudulent accounts from the start, with over 91,000 developer enrollments rejected due to fraud concerns.
In total, Apple blocked 153 million fraudulent customer accounts and terminated nearly 374 million developer and customer accounts in 2023. The company also detected and blocked 47,000 illegitimate apps on pirate storefronts and stopped almost 3.8 million attempts to install or launch illicitly distributed apps through the Enterprise Program.
Apple notes an increase in apps misrepresenting themselves as harmless products only to transform into pirated movie streaming platforms or illegal gambling apps, which its review team has worked diligently to block. The company removed 40,000 apps for bait-and-switch activity, rejected 38,000 apps for undocumented or hidden features, and 375,000 apps for privacy violations.
The report comes as the European Union has enacted changes allowing apps to be installed outside the App Store, raising concerns about potential security risks for users downloading apps from alternative sources without the same rigorous review process.
