Apple Finally Lets You Report App Store Scams
Published: October 7, 2021
With an improved version of the “Report a Problem” button, you can now report frauds and scams.
For the first time in years, the button has been re-added to individual app listings. What’s more, the drop-down menu now includes a “Report a scam or fraud” option.
Before iOS 15, you could find the report option by scrolling to the bottom of the Apps or Games section. Then, users were led to a website where they would have to sign in again.
Notably, none of the options upon signing in offered a clear way to report a scam. Furthermore, the “Report suspicious activity” option would send users to Apple Support. On top of that, Apple only allowed reporting a “quality issue” if the user had already paid money.
Now, it appears that every free app that includes in-app buying offers a “Report a Problem” option. While you will be redirected to a page where you will have to sign in, it is a step forward nonetheless.
Of course, the main question is whether Apple will act on these reports. Perhaps Apple’s automatic systems will come in handy. For instance, they could use the new data to raise an alert when a fraudulent app surpasses a certain threshold.
Overall, Apple appears to be paying attention to the uproar over the App Store. Following the regulatory and judicial scrutiny, the company has also allowed its users to review the Apple apps pre-installed on every iPhone.