Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Facebook Said A Chinese Company Compromised Users With Malware And Then Ran Ads Using Their Accounts

Facebook Said A Chinese Company Compromised Users With Malware And Then Ran Ads Using Their Accounts

The defendants allegedly used the accounts to run ads thaFacebook is suing a Hong Kong–based company and two Chinese citizens it says used malware to compromise user accounts in order to run millions of dollars of deceptive Facebook ads that often featured celebrities.

The company filed the federal lawsuit Thursday in California against ILikeAd Media International Company, Chen Xiao Cong, and Huang Tao. Facebook alleges that Cong, of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, developed the malware, while Tao, who is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, was responsible for the “distrt often misused the images of celebrities to sell “counterfeit goods and diet pills.”
Facebook is suing a Hong Kong–based company and two Chinese citizens it says used malware to compromise user accounts in order to run millions of dollars of deceptive Facebook ads that often featured celebrities.

The company filed the federal lawsuit Thursday in California against ILikeAd Media International Company, Chen Xiao Cong, and Huang Tao. Facebook alleges that Cong, of Wuhan, Hubei province, China, developed the malware, while Tao, who is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, was responsible for the “distribution and installation of the malicious extension.”

Rob Leathern, Facebook’s director of product management for business integrity, told BuzzFeed News the lawsuit is a way to “create consequences for these folks outside of shutting down their ad accounts and preventing them from using the platform.”

“This [scheme] has affected folks in multiple countries and is something we began investigating in late 2018,” he said.

The suit follows similar Facebook legal action this year related to ads and malware. In August, it sued two Chinese app makers that allegedly committed ad fraud by programming bots to click on ads on Facebook. And in March it sued two Ukrainians who allegedly used malware to steal user data.

Facebook’s court filing alleges the defendants tricked users into installing their malware by bundling it with other programs. Once installed, the malware compromised a user’s Facebook account. The defendants allegedly used the accounts to run ads that often misused the images of celebrities to sell “counterfeit goods and diet pills.” Facebook’s filing alleges the malware was programmed to detect whether a compromised account was set up to run ads and would then place ads that were “billed to the victim’s ad account.”

A blog post about the suit from Leathern and Jessica Romero, Facebook’s director of platform enforcement and litigation, said the company has “refunded victims whose accounts were used to run unauthorized ads and helped them to secure their accounts.” Facebook said it reimbursed victims more than $4 million.

A report from CNET last month offered a detailed breakdown of what happened when one man's Facebook account was hacked and used to place ads.

In addition to using compromised accounts to run ads, Facebook also alleges the defendants used a process known as “cloaking” to help defeat the company’s ad review process.

“Through cloaking, the defendants deliberately disguised the true destination of the link in the ad by displaying one version of an ad’s landing page to Facebook’s systems and a different version to Facebook users,” said the blog post.

The use of cloaking and celebrity photos in deceptive ads is a huge problem on Facebook that often results in users being tricked into signing up for expensive subscriptions without their knowledge. In October, BuzzFeed News exposed a massive subscription trap operation that used rented Facebook accounts to run more than $50 million worth of deceptive ads since 2016. The ads tricked users into handing over their credit card information for scam offerings of skin cream and erectile dysfunction pills, among other products.

The operation was run by a San Diego–based marketing agency called Ads Inc. The company has since shut down.

Leathern said Facebook is still “considering its legal options” regarding Ads Inc.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×