Several verified Facebook pages are hacked to distribute malware through ads. The hackers are impersonating Facebook by creating pages like ‘Meta Ads’ and ‘Meta Ads Manager’ to lure users into clicking suspicious download links. Social media consultant, Matt Navarra, was one of the first to spot these fake Facebook ads and took to Twitter to alert the users.
Fake Facebook Ads: Tricking Users Into Downloading Shady Tools
The social media consultant shared a few fake verified pages having links to fake Facebook Ads. One such page belongs to an Indian singer and actress Miss Pooja before the account name was changed on 29th April. The account which operated for at least a decade and boasted more than 7 million followers pointed users toward fake links for Bard, Google’s AI chatbot.
The cause of concern is that all of the pages running fake Facebook ads were apparently approved without issue in Meta’s automated ads system. In its security report, Meta stated that it has found around 10 malware families posing as ChatGPT and similar tools to compromise accounts across the internet. According to TechCrunch; “It’s possible that the Facebook pages that impersonated Facebook and went on to buy malware-laden ads were compromised through DuckTail or malware like it.”
Meta’s Response
A spokesperson of Meta said that the company invests significant resources into detecting and preventing scams and hacks, but scammers are always trying to find ways to get around their security measures. He further added that while many of the improvements they’ve made are not visible, they minimize the chances of people having issues in the first place.
Also read: Researcher Finds Bug that Allowed Hackers to Easily Bypass Facebook and Instagram 2FA
