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Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

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Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#111

Post by quickslowdown »

OJFord wrote: post #74
quickslowdown wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are professional gamblers (pro poker?). I think I understand the spirit of what you're trying to say, but CFDs are absolutely a gamble, like most investing. It just doesn't have the same stink of "casino gambling," it's a fresh cut, cologne wearing, suited up form of gambling.

> absolutely a gamble, like most investing Yeah well like I said, definitions. If most investing is gambling then sure, I just don't find that useful. Anyway the initial comment I was responding to was 'looking for my broker but got CFDs'; my point was they got a different broker. It's still a bad search result, but it's not a weird scam, it's just a competitor. It's not the same as looking for my bank but got crypto…

gambling (noun): the practice or activity of betting : the practice of risking money or other stakes in a game or bet

This is the actual dictionary definition of how I would describe investing to someone who'd never heard of it. Investing money is gambling. It's not a bad word or something to be ashamed of, and I'm not trying to be a pedant (I say as I type a long comment starting with a dictionary definition), I just think it's important to recognize & remember at all times so you don't lose everything.

I get what you mean about the broker app. App store searches are bullshit.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#112

Post by callalex »

But I've been assured that the 30% protection racket Apple charges is justified because they spend so much effort curating their store. I'm assured by Apple's latest press release that the web is full of scams and only they can protect me from it.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#113

Post by milch »

cam_l wrote: post #80
blibble wrote: post #8

I don't think I've ever searched for something on the app store and not got a scam as the first result just tried it - my bank? I get crypto.com - train company app? knockoff app that charges extra fees - my broker? CFD gambling app - official government app for paying my tax? intuit product I dare to think how many people this lures in scammy ads plastered everywhere is what I'd expect from Google products not for t…

Hilarious. I don't think i have never seen or gotten a scam app (not including games, which I don't use) as the top result on Google Play. In fact, I just used all your searches on Google play and got - my bank - the train company app - my broker - hmrc The next 4 or 5 in each case were also legit. Maybe this is really something to be aware of if switching to apple? Certainly would not have been something I would hav…

I think the poster here meant an ad over the search results rather than the actual first result. The ads have a different highlight and a badge that says "ad" ... I just tried the same categories and all of the top results were the official app. The next few were mostly apps from the same developer as well. I don't know that I would call ads that are clearly labeled as ads a "scam" even if they are unwanted

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#114

Post by callalex »

ilamont wrote: post #14

Promoted results in Google are loaded with scams. According to one recent report, 75% of brands are affected ( https://searchengineland.com/google-search-ads-brands-fraud-... ): The researchers who conducted the report found that retail giants such as Amazon, American Airlines, Lego, Pizza Hut, and Samsung were all victims of identity fraud within Google Search Ads. Here's a Google SERP for "Facebook" which shows Fac…

This is about app stores, not web searches. Google Play Store does not suffer from this issue to the same degree at all.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#115

Post by cromka »

trothamel wrote: post #82
KomoD wrote: post #5

> does a scam app become the #1 organic search result (not promoted) in the app store It's possible that it's just because it was literally called "Bitcoin Wallet", an exact match for your search, or boosted by fake reviews, or it was actually an ad that you didn't notice. Though it shouldn't have gotten past review at all But I don't really understand why you'd blindly trust some random app? Also, would be interesti…

> But I don't really understand why you'd blindly trust some random app? Perhaps because Apple claims their apps go through a review process, and one would hope this would have failed that process? That's what Apple claims the value proposition of their 30% cut and closed platform are.

This short conversation perfectly summarized the reality behind the Apple EU spat.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#116

Post by habeanf »

endisneigh wrote: post #69

Sad to say but it seems pretty are pretty dumb. Robinhood yields robinhood for first non-ad app, same with Bank of America, chase, Citi, etc. do people really just click the first thing they see? Wow. As for the example - can’t replicate, but seems crazy to put a seed phrase into some random app you didn’t get yourself. Even if the app wasn’t a scam.

I didn’t put a seed phrase into the app. I created a new wallet in it and transferred the btc to it.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#118

Post by seanhunter »

blibble wrote: post #8

I don't think I've ever searched for something on the app store and not got a scam as the first result just tried it - my bank? I get crypto.com - train company app? knockoff app that charges extra fees - my broker? CFD gambling app - official government app for paying my tax? intuit product I dare to think how many people this lures in scammy ads plastered everywhere is what I'd expect from Google products not for t…

I don't recognize this picture at all. Even if you aren't distinguishing between ads and search results I'm not seeing scams as adverts but there may be a difference between the UK and US app stores in this respect perhaps.

For me on apple UK app store:

my bank - Ad: another legit bank. First result: my bank

Train company - Ad: a generic legit train booking app. First result: the train company

My broker - Ad: another broker. First result: my broker

Official government app for paying my tax - ad: a general tax app. First result: government app.

It stands to reason that they won't show an ad for the thing you're searching when it's the first organic result so I don't find this surprising.

[1] I have two and tried both. Results were the same with a different legit bank as the ad each time.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#119

Post by echoangle »

pushcx wrote: post #31
echoangle wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share some search terms you tried? I never had this problem, but I’m also not in the US so it might be different here

Pretty much every brand or app I search for finds a competitor first. Searching for "robinhood" turns up an unaffiliated cryptocurrency app and "macrofactor" turns up a competing diet app, etc. App store search has been broken for at least a few years.

Do you mean the ad at the top? For me, the first result is always an ad which is mostly not the right result, and the second entry (the first actual result) is the right app.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#120

Post by thiht »

blibble wrote: post #8

I don't think I've ever searched for something on the app store and not got a scam as the first result just tried it - my bank? I get crypto.com - train company app? knockoff app that charges extra fees - my broker? CFD gambling app - official government app for paying my tax? intuit product I dare to think how many people this lures in scammy ads plastered everywhere is what I'd expect from Google products not for t…

When I first got an iPhone a few years back, this is the thing that shocked me most. This is completely out of line with what I expect from Apple. I don’t have "scams" per se, but the first result when searching for a keyword is systematically an ad for a competitor:

- Spotify -> Deezer

- Uber -> Heetch

- UberEats -> Deliveroo

- Deliveroo -> Ubereats

- My bank -> crypto.com

I have no idea why Apple allows buying trademarks/full app names as an ad keyword. Perfect matches should always have the app first, not an ad.

Is there something in the AppStore rules that prevent apps from buying the keyword ad for their own app?

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