According to reports, threat actors posted ads on Facebook for a malware-laden download claiming to be a Clubhouse app for Windows. Cybercriminals often take advantage of the popularity of hit apps to trick unsuspecting users into downloading infected clones, and with millions of downloads already, the invite-only iPhone audio chat app Clubhouse lends itself Good for criminals. Ads promising to bypass Clubhouse's 2 restrictions (invitation and iPhone only) shouldn't have passed Facebook's security checks, but somehow they did and ran for free on the platform, directing unsuspecting users to multiple Facebook pages disguised as Clubhouse.
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fake ads
According to reports, at least 9 different ads were placed for the non-existent scam app between Tuesday and Thursday this week. When clicked, the ad led to a fake Clubhouse site, which even included a mockup of the Clubhouse desktop application, as a download link to a tinted executable. Security scholars have examined the executable and reveal that when it runs, it calls a command and control (C2) server to get instructions on how to infect the computer. In at least one reported case, the executable attempted to infect the scholar's sandbox machine with ransomware. However, it appears that the C2 server and the fake Clubhouse sites, which were hosted in Russia, are offline. When contacted by TechCrunch about the ads that have now been removed from Facebook, the social network declined to share the number of users who clicked on the ads that pointed to fake Clubhouse sites. Facebook's false advertising campaign follows revelations that cybercriminals violated Play Store protections to include a malware-like fake Netflix app on the platform. Alarmingly, cybercriminals able to bypass the security controls and protocols of established platforms like Facebook and Google and tech giants need to step up to prevent further misuse. Via: TechCrunch