Bad Apple: App Store Rife with Fraud, Fleeceware

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A new analysis from the Washington Post reveals just how widespread fraud is across the Apple App Store, while also offering glimpse into the revenue flowing into Cupertino generated by those malicious activities.

The Apple App Store has been under heightened scrutiny for maintaining its iron grip on the apps available to iOS users. CEO Tim Cook says the company’s monopoly on app access is necessary to maintain certain standards for safety and effectiveness.
 
But the data from The Post suggests otherwise, showing that out of all of the the top-1,000 grossing apps, almost 2 percent are scams. Notably, these apps have billed Apple customers $48 million while they’ve been available in the store, and Apple gets a 30 percent cut of every transaction. Once alerted to 18 fraud apps in the Store found by The Post, two-thirds were taken down, according to the report.
 
Threatpost has not yet received a response from Apple regarding the report.
 
The Post gathered up the top-1,000 grossing apps for the day reported by Apple in order to conduct the analysis, drawing a dramatic contrast between the company’s public statements and its own data. It found an array of scam apps covering everything from fake VPN service to fraud dating apps and more. Fleecewear apps (which charge exorbitant subscription fees after a free trial period) and fake reviews to drive up the ratings of fraudulent apps were also prevalent, according to the report.
 
“We hold developers to high standards to keep the App Store a safe and trusted place for customers to download software, and we will always take action against apps that pose a harm to users,” Fred Sainz, a spokesperson for Apple, said in a media statement. “Apple leads the industry with practices that put the safety of our customers first, and we’ll continue learning, evolving our practices and investing the necessary resources to make sure customers are presented with the very best experience.”

Read more: Bad Apple: App Store Rife with Fraud, Fleeceware | Threatpost