Meta Platforms Inc. announced that it would warn around 1 million Facebook users that their account credentials may have been hacked as a result of security concerns with apps downloaded from Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s software stores.
This year, the company found more than 400 malicious Android and iOS apps that target internet users in order to steal their login information, according to a statement released on Friday. Meta stated that it notified both Apple and Google of the problem in order to expedite the removal of the apps.
According to Facebook, the apps disguised themselves as photo editors, mobile games, or fitness trackers. According to Apple, 45 of the 400 problematic apps were available on the App Store before being removed. According to a Google spokesman, all of the fraudulent apps in question were uninstalled.
“Cybercriminals are aware of how popular these types of apps are, and they will utilize similar themes to dupe customers and steal their accounts and information,” said David Agranovich, Meta’s director of global threat disruption. “If an app promises something that appears to be too good to be true, such as unreleased features for another platform or a social media site, chances are it has ulterior objectives.”
For example, a typical fraud would unfold once a user downloaded one of the rogue apps. Beyond basic functioning, the software would require a Facebook connection, duping the user into supplying their username and password. Users might then post a modified photo to their Facebook account, for example. They unintentionally jeopardized their account by providing the app’s author access.
Meta stated that it will share recommendations with future victims on how to avoid being “re-compromised” by learning how to detect problematic apps that steal passwords, whether for Facebook or other accounts. The illegal behavior occurred outside of Meta systems, according to Agranovich, who added that not all 1 million people’s passwords were necessarily compromised.
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