84 scam apps on the App Store scamming users of over $100 million: Report
In March 2021, Avast shared a l of 133 fraudulent apps with an estimated total of 500 million downloads. More than a year later, 84 of these fraudulent apps are still available on the App Store, tricking users out of more than $100 million annually, according to a report VPNCheck, a VPN review platform. The report raises serious questions about Apple’s security measures and vetting methods for apps on the platforms. That’s because Apple iOS users can only download applications from the App Store.
There’s no sideloading of apps allowed, which is possible on Android. Apple exerts tight control over which apps are allowed to be published via the store and also charges a 30 per cent commission, which remains a controversial decision and is being contested companies such as Epic Games.
VPNCheck went through the l shared Avast and cross-checked the details for each app individually in Sensor Tower. It found that in June 2022, the active “fleeceware” applications had 7.2 million unique downloads that brought in combined net revenue of $8.6 million in a month. Making an annual estimation based on figures for June, it calculated that these apps are running a $103.2 million scam on the AppStore.
Fleeceware refers to mobile applications that come with hidden, excessive subscription fees. These applications typically take advantage of users who don’t know how to cancel subscriptions.
Most of the scam apps on the l are entertainment apps like virtual musical instruments or utilities like flashlights and calculators. These kinds of apps can also pop up in your searches if you are looking for apps related to fortune-telling, photo or video editors, quiz-based games, tuners, volume boosters, scanners, etc. While these are some of the most common themes documented, there could be scam app makers plying their trade to other domains.
One way to easily spot such scams is to look at the rating breakdown for these apps. They will usually have a large number of paid-for 5-star reviews from reviewers with fake names. These happen over a specific period and are aimed at hiding the many legitimate low-rating reviews provided actual users.
The full l of apps shared VPNCheck is as follows:
aipic – Magic Photo EditorAstro+ Horoscope & AstrologyAstroline: The Daily HoroscopeAuto Sticker Maker StudioAvatar Maker Character CreatorBa Sticker- Track MilestonesBass Booster Volume Power AmpBeat maker pro – DJ Drum PadBeat.ly Music Video MakerCartoons Me – Photo Art EditorDazz Cam- D3D Photo EffectDazzle – Insta stories editorDizzi – Photo & Video EffectsDJ it! – Music Mixer PadDrink Water ∙ Daily ReminderDrums: Play Beats & Drum Gamesedjing Mix – dj appedjing Pro – music remix makerEqualizer Fx: Bass Booster AppEqualizer+ HD music playerFacelab – Face Editor & BeautyFaceMe－Fun Personality TestsFacetory: Face Yoga & ExerciseFLMX – Video EditorFrame – Slideshow Video MakerFrames – Picture Collage MakerGirl Games: Unicorn SlimeGuitar – Chords, Tabs & GamesGuitar – real games & lessonsGuitar Play – Games & SongsGuitar Tuner – Ukulele & BassHandset – Second Phone NumberHighlight Story Cover Maker!Horoscope 2019 and Palm ReaderHub – Story Templates MakerHyper Cleaner: Clean PhoneiCons – Icon Changer App +Impresso – Insta Story EditoriWidget Pro : Custom widgetsJambl: DJ Band & Beat MakerJigsaw Puzzle – Brain GamesKaraoke Songs – Voice SingingLife Palmry – AI Palm & TagLift: Story MakerLive Wallpaper Maker: 4K ThemeLoop Maker Pro – Music MakerLucky Life – Future SeerMagicFX – Magic Video EffectsMemoro: Brain Test, IQ GameMenu Maker!Metronome – Tap Tempo & RhythmMetronome Pro – Beat & TempoMood Balance: Self Care TrackerMusic Zen – Relaxing SoundsNebula: Horoscope & AstrologyPassword Manager – Lock AppsPath – Horoscope & AstrologyPDF Scanner: Document ScanPhoto Collage – CollageablePhoto To Sketch – Drawing bookPhotoly Remove Object & EditorPiano – Lessons & Tiles GamesPiano Crush – Keyboard GamesPixomatic – Background eraserPresets for Lightroom – VidlRECOLLECT: Color NumberRingtones HD ∙ Ringtone MakerScanGuru: PDF Document ScannerScanner App ∙ Scan & Sign PDFSlidePic – Slideshow MakerSlimy: Anxiety Relief Slime 3DSpeedPro Slow speed video editSticker Maker – BeStickyStickerfy: Sticker MakerSweet Pics – Ba Photo EditoTeasEar: ASMR Slime AntressToonApp Cartoon Photo EditorTranslate Camera – Speak OnTranslator Guru: Voice & TextUltraFX – Effect Video MakerVideo Puzzles – Magic PuzzleVOCHI Video Effects EditorWeDrum: Drums, Real Drum GamesWidget PLUS+ – Photo & Weather
