Apple dumps hundreds of binary trading apps after fraud complaints

After an intervention by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, Apple has pulled more than 300 binary trading apps from the App Store, Bloomberg reports. The ASIC made the request to both Apple and Google after uncovering numerous cases of fraud where unlicensed products beyond the reach of regulators prevented consumers from withdrawing cash from their accounts or losing money on the live app after making “winning trades 9 times out of 10 in the demonstration app.” Apple recently updated its developer guidelines to prohibit new apps that facilitate binary options trading, but didn’t comment on discussions with the ASIC. Of the 330 that have been verified as removed, the ASIC said “80 percent had no warnings about the risks inherent in trading.”