Meta removes fraud app ads in India, after being asked twice

Meta removed dozens of advertisements for apps that presented themselves as pornography but actually functioned as banking malware, after the Indian government issued an advisory.

Reuters then found at least 39 more of the ads still running and reported on Monday that Meta removed those as well after being asked about them.

The sequence is what makes the story notable. A government warning led to some of the advertisements being removed, while a reporter’s email prompted Meta to take down the rest.

Advertising makes this different from ordinary malware distribution. An app listed in a store still has to be discovered and installed by a user, whereas a paid advertisement is actively delivered to people selected by an advertising system because they are considered likely to engage with it.

The apps themselves were capable of accessing information on users’ phones, capturing one-time passwords and banking PINs, and transferring money from...

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