RockAuto, an auto parts dealer operating in North America, has revealed that it recently fought a one-sided battle when it tried to remove a counterfeit app posing as the company from Apple’s App Store.
Despite repeated complaints to Apple, the tech giant reportedly took weeks to remove the fake app from the App Store, raising concerns about the integrity of the platform that promises strict checks before apps are allowed to be published.
The company was first made aware of the unreliable app when customers began complaining about intrusive ads appearing in what they believed was RockAuto’s iOS app.
Do not download this RockAuto app
Jim Taylor, co-founder and president of the company, shared TechCrunch: “We discovered that someone had placed an app in the Apple App Store using our logo and company information – but with the spelling errors and clunky images typical of phishing schemes.”
Despite posing as RockAuto on the App Store, many of the app listings in the description refer to the company as “RackAuto.” Other thoughtless errors, such as the word ‘Heading’ appearing on one of the images showing a screenshot of the app, are all telltale signs that this app is definitely not legit.
Although RockAuto attempted to contact Apple several times, it reportedly took the company weeks to take action.
Taylor added: “Neither the uploaded documents nor the online form submissions yielded any response at all… not even the promised ‘case number within 24 hours’, despite multiple submissions.”
The fact that the fraudulent app ended up on the App Store is alarming in itself, but when combined with the fact that Apple has been protesting the EU’s digital markets law in recent weeks, citing its superior security and privacy the App Store, is even more alarming. alarming.
Taylor told TechCrunch: “After ignoring us for weeks, Apple removed the fake app just hours after your article appeared.”
Ny Breaking asked Apple for comment on the ongoing case, but the company did not immediately respond.