Logo
Logo
Search
UPGRADE
ABOUT
RESOURCES
REPORTING
LOGIN

Hundreds of Meta ads with fake virus alerts tricked people into downloading suspicious apps

The ads falsely told people that their phone had been infected with viruses, was compromised by hackers, or that their Facebook account would be permanently disabled.

Craig Silverman
Craig Silverman

Jul 24, 2025

The EcoCleanse app shot up the App Store rankings for Utility apps

At one point last week, “EcoCleanse: Media Helper” was among the 10 most popular downloaded apps in the US App Store’s “Utilities” category. The app also boasted hundreds of reviews, the vast majority of which gave it 5-stars. It was an impressive start for an app that had only appeared in the App Store a few weeks earlier.

EcoCleanse’s description said it helped users “take control of your device’s photo and video library” by organizing content and removing duplicates, among other features. 

logo

Upgrade to read the rest.

Become a paying member of Indicator to access all of our content and our monthly members-only workshop. Support independent media while building your skills.

Upgrade

A membership gets you:

  • Everything we publish, plus archival content, including the Academic Library and our Resources
  • Live monthly workshops and access to all recordings

Keep Reading



Indicator is your essential guide to understanding and investigating digital deception.

cursor-click