• Posted by: Eng. Donya Bino
• February 07, 2026

Beware Trojan Apps From Social Media Ads

A lot of people today use various digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other places to see compelling advertisements that advertise free tools/games/increases in productivity. The majority are not malicious, however, some advertisements will lead to trojanized applications - software that seems to be real/software, when in fact, contains hidden malware similar to how the Trojan Horse contained malice inside its "gift" to the Trojans. 

Trojanized applications can get your personal information; they can slow down your device; they can lock you out of your accounts, and worse yet, they can do all of these things at once. The good news? You can arm yourself against these types of tactics, by being informed enough to detect these tactics and protect yourself generally without much effort. 

The Attack: A Breakdown of the Steps
It all starts out with good intentions when scammers (often pretending to be affiliated with a well-known brand) post fake ads on social media that usually use recent trends like a new AI tool or game; these ads link to fake websites that seem legitimate and try to convince you to install the app from either the fake website or from one of the many app store sites.

Initially, the app will perform as expected (to create trust); however, behind-the-scenes, the app will turn on the malicious code. Malicious code could be something such as malware or something else that would access your contacts/photos/passwords/bank accounts without your permission. Some trojan-esque apps could cause you to click on fake advertising solely so they can earn money; this could also be wasting your battery life and data. 

Make sure to install your applications from official stores or things like iTunes reviews and look for anything that appears to be different from the norm before opening an application you have not previously installed.

This is not magic; this is deception by people that are smarter than you and if you are aware of this you can protect yourself.

Real Examples from 2023–2026
The last several years have seen numerous examples of these threats from many highly visible law cases, including warnings issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in 2023 about the proliferation of social media and search engine consumer advertisements promoting malicious imitation of AI Software. Advertisements directed to cloned websites to download malware, bypassing detection by antivirus programs to compromise user information. 

As recently as 2025, the Noodlophile Scams utilized several different Facebook advertisement campaigns targeting 62,000 individuals with malware disguised as AI video editing tools. The posts generated millions of views through legitimate viral groups. 

The UNC6032 group used Facebook and LinkedIn advertisement campaigns in 2025 to promote various imitation (of Luma AI or Canva) AI video generators. The result of these advertisements directed victims to websites that installed backdoors (i.e., covert entry points) to steal credentials. 

The SlopAds scam resulted in 224 applications on Google Play being removed in 2025 after downloading an estimated 38 million total copies of various applications used by the Scammers. Even though the applications were ostensibly legitimate (using trustworthy seller certificates), the applications contained code hidden in the images of the applications to generate billions of fake advertisement bids every day, profiting the scammers while damaging millions of users' devices. 

Although these cases illustrate that trends involving AI are easily exploited, companies are working diligently to improve detection.

Real Life Examples of How This could Happen to You
To help convey this message, here are three fictional (yet very real) stories based on real-life events. All three scenarios show how an ad can appear, what happens to someone after they click on it and the consequences of that action.

Example 1: Teenager Gamer, Alex.
This example is about a 16-year-old boy who goes to high school, loves to play mobile games and spends his evenings scrolling through Instagram. One night while browsing Instagram, he sees an advertisement for a "Free Download of Epic Game Booster AI," which is touted as a product that will allow him to Play Multiple Games >>> Faster Load Time + Unlimited Lives in popular games that he enjoys (e.g., fortnight). This advertisement comes complete with flashy fill-in-the-blanks graphics, testimonials from users stating how well it works, and also a large "Download Now" button which links him to an imitation of the Google Play Store.

Excited and trusting of the advertisement, Alex clicks on the button and downloads the app. At first, everything seems to be fine; the app optimizes his phone. However, shortly thereafter Alex realizes the app has access to all his contacts and has sent multiple spam text messages to all of them, and that all his gaming account login credentials have been stolen. Alex's phone will begin to slow down because of the amount of spam generated by the application.

Because of this incident, Alex will need to reset his phone and change his passwords to all of his gaming accounts before he will be able to access them again.

 

 

Example 2: A Small Business Owner Abruptly Loses Access to His Money
Maria is a 35-year-old cafe owner who struggles to operate her business within budget constraints. In looking for tools online, Maria found an advertisement on Facebook for a “Free AI Invoice Generator” and promised her ability to create professional invoices in seconds, including before and after samples, through a safe looking website.

She was excited to get the app, so she downloaded it from the link in the advertisement. The invoices that she created were OK, but the app had hidden code in it that accessed her emails to find her banking details and installed software that clicked on ads for Maria. Result: The $500 that has been illegally charged to her debit card because the app used to create invoices had violated her security by telling an outside source the banking information. In addition, the background advertisement caused Maria’s phone to lose its battery quickly, and her normal work routine to be disrupted. She reported it to the bank and uninstalled the app.

 

 

Example 3: The Privacy-Conscious Consumer
Clara is a 28-year-old freelancer who freelances and believes in online privacy. She uses the social network LinkedIn for business. While on LinkedIn, Clara sees ads for an app called “Secure AI Privacy Shield,” which uses fake experts to promote it as a way to block trackers and encrypt data.

Clara installs the app under the belief that it’s secure. Upon installation of the app, Clara gives the app permission to perform multiple functions and track Clara’s internet usage; however, the app was again not what it appeared to be and began selling Clara’s data to advertising companies.

As a result of the app, Clara no longer trusts privacy tools because of the advertisements from the app cluttering up his device and because of the targeted scams caused from the app leaking Clara’s personal information. To eliminate the app from her device, Clara used antivirus software and reviewed the permissions she allowed the app to have on her device.

 

 

Simple Safety Steps to Protect Yourself
It is easy for anyone who is not tech savvy to avoid falling into the traps. Follow these steps to help protect yourself: 
1. Stick to the Official Store. Go to either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and look for the official app, the reviews on the app, and the developer of the app. Only download apps from these official stores. 
2. Verify Ad before clicking on them. Do a search on your own to find the website of the product the ad is promoting instead of clicking on the ad to download product. 
3. Install and use antivirus applications. Find a good free antivirus program (many of these are available, such as Avast or Malwarebytes), install it, and perform a scan on the product you downloaded before opening it. 
4. Review Permissions before install. Check to see what an app asks for before installing it. Example: does a game need access to your contacts to function? 
5. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA). Always use two-factor authentication when logging into your account(s) to help protect your account from being accessed by anyone other than you. 
6. Report any suspicious ads. When you see an ad on the platform that looks suspect, flag and report the ad using the tools provided by the platform to block these types of ads from being displayed again. 

Empowering Your Online Behavior
Trojaned apps through social media ads continue to be a growing risk, but they can be managed effectively if you are aware of them. If an ad tips you off/pause, and verify the product. By becoming more aware of the potential risks involved when using social media, you will become a smarter user. 

Use common sense to help you have an enjoyable time using social media. Remember that information is your best tool to protect yourself from possible harm!