Aaannnd that's why they only ask for $50.
At $50, do they get enough scale for the endeavor to be worthwhile? This malware doesn’t appear to be particularly smart, but it must have taken some effort to wrote and seed trackers with fakes, and it will all be for nothing once Apple updates the XProtect definitions.
That's when they target corporations and governments. Such small amounts are nothing when those are concerned.
If people keep downloading and installing, the fact that it’s only $50 makes it easier to justify and pay.
Most people don’t keep backups. Every time I had someone close call me about a phone they lost access to and if there was anything they could do for their pictures, the only thing you could say is, do you have backups? Then direct them to someone who could mess with their hardware (if they still had it) and see what they could do.
If it was a screen, they’d pay to get it replace. If it was a sketchy soldering job, they’d risk it just to get their photos, same with transferring boards, etc. If it was just paying $50 bucks, I know a ton of people that would spend they money and probably like 80% of them would then keep using their phones without backing it up.