Back Gazettengr Meta pulls Facebook, Instagram ads using porn to steal users' bank credentials
Indian authorities said the ads directed and Instagram users to phishing websites.
Indian authorities said the ads directed and Instagram users to phishing websites.
Indian authorities said the ads directed and Instagram users to phishing websites, after which they were directed to download Android apps disguised as pornographic apps.
The government said it had observed an increase in financial fraud that involved “malicious Android applications masquerading as pornography apps”.
It said the apps secretly accessed users’ information stored on their phones, including bank PINs, and subsequently transferred funds without the owners’ authorisation.
An estimated $2.4 billion was lost to cyber scams in 2025 as perpetrators targeted the country’s booming digital payment platforms, according to official figures.
The ads, which used sexually explicit video thumbnails to garner clicks, were still active despite the Indian authorities’ earlier advisory.
According to the news outlet, one of the ads remained active and, when clicked upon, directed users to download “Movexa.apk” outside an official app store.
In its advertising policies, Meta states that ads “must not contain adult nudity and sexual activity” and must not promote products, services, schemes or offers using identified deceptive or misleading practices, including those meant to scam people out of money or personal information.
It also gave Meta one week to explain how the materials were allowed on Instagram.
In its defence, Meta said it has “a zero-tolerance policy for soliciting or sharing” content that facilitates or promotes child sexual abuse and that it deploys advanced AI technology to detect such materials.
The Indian government had also directed Google to remove accounts on its Firebase platform over rising financial fraud.
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