Meta Pulls 39 Scam Ads Promoting Malicious Porn Apps After India’s Warning

India's Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory on August 26 warning that malicious Android apps, masquerading as pornography apps, were being promoted on Facebook and Instagram. These apps could steal banking credentials and OTPs, take control of users' devices, transfer money from their accounts unauthorised, and install a VPN to expose transmitted data.

Reuters discovered at least 39 such active ads and Meta removed all of them shortly after the news agency alerted the company. The apps were promoted through sexually explicit videos and images to attract users who were then redirected to phishing websites disguised as pornographic content. Users were prompted to download APK files from unofficial sources, which installed the malicious software.

The malware could capture OTPs and bank PINs, control devices, and facilitate unauthorised financial transactions. Users were advised to only download apps from trusted sources, avoid granting accessibility permissions to unknown apps, regularly review installed apps, update Android devices, and monitor bank accounts and UPI transactions for suspicious activity.