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4w ago

Apple Says App Store Blocked $2.2 Billion in Fraud in 2025

Using machine learning paired with human review, Apple says it stopped fake accounts, scam apps, stolen‑card purchases, pledging to expand those defenses.

Colourful cartoon App Store characters relaxing by a pool scene.
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Colorful cartoon characters lounging by a pool on a sunny day with beach toys and palm trees.

Overview

  • Apple disclosed Wednesday that its 2025 fraud‑prevention report shows more than $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent App Store transactions were blocked, bringing a six‑year total to about $11.2 billion.
  • The company says its Trust and Safety systems rejected roughly 1.1 billion fraudulent account creation attempts and deactivated 40.4 million existing accounts for fraud and abuse in 2025.
  • App Review evaluated over 9.1 million submissions last year and rejected more than 2 million problematic apps, including nearly 59,000 removed for post‑approval bait‑and‑switch financial fraud and 2.5 million TestFlight submissions blocked for security concerns.
  • Apple terminated about 193,000 developer accounts and rejected roughly 138,000 developer enrollments in 2025, while also blocking close to 195 million fake ratings and reviews and detecting 28,000 illegitimate apps on pirate storefronts.
  • Apple says it will continue to scale AI detection alongside human reviewers to keep pace with more sophisticated bot‑ and AI‑driven abuse, but it acknowledges the problem persists and some fraudulent apps still occasionally reach users.