Facebook seems to have a ‘verified’ problem; hackers impersonating Meta tricking users to download malware

Social media scams aren’t anything new. Everyday bad actors and hackers are coming up with new ways to get their hands on people’s private data. In a recent social media scam, fake Meta accounts are seen impersonating the social media giant to trick users into downloading fake tools. First spotted by social media consultant Matt Nevarra, these fake pages impersonate Meta with a verified tick on their profiles.

The scam operates by showing up as Meta ads to users and convincing users to download a new tool to enhance their social media security or for a more professional looking profile.  The ads contained a link to a download page, which required users to enter their login details before downloading the tool. These tools could contain malware that could infect users’ devices and compromise their personal data. It could also give the scammers access to the user’s social media account, allowing them to post spam or malicious content.

Meta in its latest “Adversarial Threat Report, First Quarter 2023” informs that it took action against three “separate cyber espionage operations in South Asia linked to a group of hackers known in the security industry as Bahamut APT, another group known as Patchwork APT and a state-linked group in Pakistan.”

The company also took down six “covert influence operations” for violating its policy against CIB. These CIB networks originated in the United States, Venezuela, Iran, China, Georgia, Burkina Faso and Togo with more than half of them targeting people outside of their countries.

ALSO READ l Western Digital customer info hacked; company says investigation is underway

“We know that adversarial threats will keep evolving in response to our enforcement and that new malicious behaviors will emerge. We’ll continue to refine our enforcement and share our findings publicly,” the company says in the report.  

Social media scams aren’t anything new. Everyday bad actors and hackers are coming up with new ways to get their hands on people’s private data. In a recent social media scam, fake Meta accounts are seen impersonating the social media giant to trick users into downloading fake tools. First spotted by social media consultant Matt Nevarra, these fake pages impersonate Meta with a verified tick on their profiles.

The scam operates by showing up as Meta ads to users and convincing users to download a new tool to enhance their social media security or for a more professional looking profile.  The ads contained a link to a download page, which required users to enter their login details before downloading the tool. These tools could contain malware that could infect users’ devices and compromise their personal data. It could also give the scammers access to the user’s social media account, allowing them to post spam or malicious content.

Meta in its latest “Adversarial Threat Report, First Quarter 2023” informs that it took action against three “separate cyber espionage operations in South Asia linked to a group of hackers known in the security industry as Bahamut APT, another group known as Patchwork APT and a state-linked group in Pakistan.”

The company also took down six “covert influence operations” for violating its policy against CIB. These CIB networks originated in the United States, Venezuela, Iran, China, Georgia, Burkina Faso and Togo with more than half of them targeting people outside of their countries.

ALSO READ l Western Digital customer info hacked; company says investigation is underway

“We know that adversarial threats will keep evolving in response to our enforcement and that new malicious behaviors will emerge. We’ll continue to refine our enforcement and share our findings publicly,” the company says in the report.