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Report Reveals In-App Purchase Scams in the App Store

Abazigal said:
Low crime doesn't mean no crime.

Apple will do what they can to get rid of rogue elements in the App Store, but that doesn't absolve users of any personal responsibility whatsoever.
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"Rouge elements?"

You're describing an app that cannot physically exist. You really think they "did what they can" to stop that?

It looks to me like they didn't even read the description before approving it.

That sounds like a good try to you? Do you think most stores sell you things without even looking at them first? I feel like they could be doing more than that.
 
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I'd recommend everyone read the source article. It highlights the issue much better than the MR re-write. A couple of things stand out to me. 1. Apple needs to seriously rethink how they offer search ads to developers. When devs bid on search terms, it only benefits two groups: devs with money and scammers with money. 2. Gotta make the ads look less like apps. People are less likely to click on ads that look like ads. When they look like apps, the chances increase for people to click on th... hey, wait a ding dang minute!;)

A lot of these scams contain grammatical and syntax errors. The prevailing logic seems to be that we should automatically spot these and know they are scams. The problem with this is everyone is not going to spot the errors. English isn't the first language of everyone with an iPhone. The larger problem is the human brain can and does auto-correct errors for us. I'm always reminded of this little gem:
10463aad795495b1019528b5b06e0555.jpg

Bottom line, Apple needs to get this sorted, and sorted PDQ. For anyone who made it this far, realize that this article isn't about THIS app. It's about APPS, as in multiple apps.
 
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convergent said:
I am sorry but I don't get where the "fraud" is here. Is it sneaky and over priced? Yes. But many of the replies are saying its fraud to offer antivirus on iOS. There are many anti-virus programs on iOS - https://technofizi.net/top-best-anti-virus-for-iphone-ipad-ios-free-
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That is differnet than what is described in this article.

Some of these apps say they scan your whole phone to find viruses. (Not that it prevents them coming and going like the legit apps.)

That is not possible and they aren't doing what they claims they can.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Or a "normal" person who doesn't really understand the nuts and bolts of OSes but feels the need to be proactive after reading or seeing so many stories about hackers, hijacked computers, identity theft, and the like. I know lots of smart people who are idiots when it comes to things with CPUs.

This is mostly on Apple. It is the one that erected the walled garden in the name of security. This is its failure. Let's not blame the victims here.
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I disagree. It's on Apple if they are informed and fail to act. However, if someone is panicked by the big bad media, that's frankly on them, just the same as if they decide to listen to Jenny McCarthy instead of their pediatrician and their child gets extremely ill from the measles. There comes a point where one can't depend on the government, society, companies, etc. to literally do all the thinking for oneself, particularly if they aren't mentally impaired.

Besides, what's stopping them from asking questions? They are on the App Store so clearly they can look on the internet and get informed. The internet is a powerful tool which can bring people incredible information but if someone opts not to take advantage of that, don't they ever carry some responsibility?
 
bokEck said:
This smells almost less like a scam and more like a front for something else.

Need to collect money for something illegal, in an inconspicuous way? Something that shows up on the books as a legitimate business transaction? Have your "associates" download your app, and collect their dues via in-app purchases at an insane weekly rate!

The part that makes me doubt this idea, though, is of course that Apple takes 30% off off the top. So it would seem a bit... inefficient... if this were really the case.

Maybe if you were to pick up a few unsuspecting scam victims along the way, it would pay for some of the overhead lost to Apple? Still seems unlikely. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Back in the 1980s UPS drivers accepted cash as payments for COD deliveries. UPS collected the money and then mailed the shipper a check drawn on the UPS bank account, a check that could then be cashed anywhere. Someone who needed to launder $100K of cash could send 50 "packages" and for a minimal fee, get the money transfered to a clean account. UPS (and other shippers) stopped accepting cash when this all came to light.

Your post makes me wonder if Apple and possibly other app stores are now the electronic equivalent of these old-fashioned money laundering schemes.
 
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It baffles me how silly some people in this thread are. This is obviously a problem Apple is going to fix as soon as they're aware of it and figure out a way to handle it, yet everyone acts like the sky is falling.

Scammers operate by finding ways to exploit users and get around protections, they always have and will continue to do so. This isn't something new or unique. Be glad Apple is a company that takes these things seriously and addresses them quickly.
 
lol can't blame the scammers, look at Apple's current user-base state..
 
Two rules of thumb that I always live by. Do not buy add-ons for apps on an iPhone and NEVER do subscriptions since all you are doing is padding the bottom line of a company like Microsoft or Adobe.
 
Romy90210 said:
I disabled IAP in my resctricion settings in all my devices...
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Sounds to me like youu needed to make an excuse to justify being scammed by this very same app.. I'd really hope humanity is not this stupid..
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What? How could you read that into what was posted? Firstly @Chupa Chupa is an experienced forum member who knows his stuff so no, this scam would not have caught him. More to the point, he is explaining how some otherwise intelligent would be scammed under the circumstances.

People who are out of their element are always vulnerable. Whether it's a city person suddenly trying to cope in the country or a farmer from a small town in a big city for the first time in their life, someone who isn't savvy to their environment is vulnerable. Think about it, would a neurosurgeon necessarily know when an auto mechanic is trying to scam them? Would an auto mechanic necessarily know when a neurosurgeon is completely wrong about their diagnosis? Not all victims of scams are stupid. But all have a key vulnerability that scammers exploit.

My husband and I have pretty much a full time job protecting our family members from stuff like this. They are not stupid people and in fact are extremely successful in the fields in which they are educated. But they don't understand computers and smart phones. They hear only the basic news about hacking that dominates the media these days and think they are being smart trying these services to protect themselves.

One of the reasons we encouraged them to go with Apple over the years is we had always trusted the walled garden to protect them when we aren't available. It has traditionally been the case that the world of Android and Windows was more wild and wooly.
 
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cdmoore74 said:
IAP is one of the reasons why I don't download mobile games anymore. I would rather pay upfront knowing that I can have access to all the content vs struggling with the game and having to pay IAP's.
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The issue is with upfront payment is that the App store model is very different compared to the old buy/use model on the PC. On the PC you received X amount of updates (likely until the next major release) but with apps people expect a lifetime of updates because they paid $2.

I imagine it's hard for developers of good software to exist these days by charging up front, many people are cheapskates and won't pay it to begin with but those who do freak out when they have to buy the new version when a developer decides to limit the existing version by producing a new one.
 
mabhatter said:
I wish they'd make a differentiation between IAP for things like more levels and expansion packs and IAP for Accessories and IAP for consumables.
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Has apple made it clear when an lAP is for a device or an account? A few years ago I bought a language app for my wife, which ranked very high. Each language was an IAP and it turned out it was only on my device because that s the one I bought it on. To me the way the app store works it should have been on all of them, but they had the language pack act like a consumable the was device specific. I suddenly stopped buying apps in general after that.
 
goobot said:
I don't understand how people can live in modern society but are incapable to even read this short popup to realize they are being scammed hard.
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People in general are pretty stupid. You have no idea how many customers at work put their credit card in the ticket slot and wonder why the machine doesnt work
 
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I've seen articles warning about fake apps before most or all from china, but one has to know that scammers have their own R&D and are always watching for this window to open.
 
That Apple approval guidelines probably done offshore or just some underpaid sitting on their desk paid by how many approved apps they made. The only time we hear something doesn't approve is when the apps is against their interest or when enough complaints is being made. Look what Apple is been doing lately an open public beta anyone can install the beta. Using their own users to do their job, no more intensive testing from developers as well. Now this, waiting for people to find out and complaints then work on it if they got time. Just like most if their bugs on their MacOS and iOS and other products. SMH!
 
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