Apple says it stopped fraudulent payments in 2021 that could have cost users $1.5 billion

Apple has announced that it helped customers to keep safe $1.5 billion in 2021 rather than lose it in fraudulent transactions. The iPhone maker said it did this by stopping 1.6 million risky or vulnerable apps from entering the App Store. It also stopped apps from being updated if updates would have introduced problems.

Breaking down the fraud prevention results, Apple listed:

• 34,500+ apps were rejected for containing hidden or undocumented features
• 157,000+ apps rejected for being spam, copycats, or misleading users
• 343,000+ apps rejected for privacy violations
• Nearly $1.5 billion in fraudulent transactions stopped
• 3.3 million+ stolen credit cards prevented from purchasing
• Nearly 600,000 accounts are banned from ever transacting again
• 170 million+ fraudulent customer accounts deactivated
• 118 million+ attempted fraudulent account creations rejected
• 802,000+ fraudulent developer accounts terminated

With regards to the monetary figure cited by Apple as mentioned at the top of the article, it was able to use technology and human reviews to stop 3.3 million stolen cards from being used to make fraudulent payments. Furthermore, it banned 600,000 accounts from transacting again. As a result of these efforts, Apple said it stopped $1.5 billion from being stolen.

On this matter, Apple said:

“Apple’s efforts keep the App Store a safe and trusted place for users to find and download apps, and for developers to do what they do best: create. To help ensure that trusted ecosystem is sustained for years to come, Apple will continue working to detect fraudulent activity and accounts, and prevent financial crimes.”

Aside from human and machine reviews of apps that are submitted to its store, user reviews are another good way of determining the quality of apps. It said that a billion ratings and reviews were posted in 2021 and that 94 million reviews and 170 million ratings were blocked for failing to meet moderation standards. All the efforts the firm is taking make its ecosystem more trustworthy in the minds of consumers.