Facebook has filed a lawsuit against a Hong Kong-based company and Chinese citizens urging users to click on celebrity photos and fake sponsored links so they can install malicious software to penetrate user accounts and run ads for counterfeit goods, weight loss pills and supplements.
Facebook filed suit against ILikeAd Media International, Chen Xiao Cong and Huang Tao, alleging that Chen Xiao developed the malicious software, while Huang Tao was responsible for deploying and installing the malware extension.
“The lawsuit is a way of putting consequences for these people away from closing their advertising accounts and preventing them from using the platform,” said Rob Leathern, Director of Product Integrity for Facebook. “This fraudulent scheme has affected people in many countries. Investigated in late 2018. ”
The lawsuit follows similar legal procedures for Facebook this year related to advertising and malware.In August, the company filed a lawsuit against two Chinese application makers who claimed to have committed ad fraud via software to click on ads on Facebook.
The company also filed a lawsuit in March against two Ukrainians who claimed to have used malware to steal user data.
Facebook said in a new lawsuit filed in court that fraudsters tricked users into installing their malware by combining it with other programs, so that it tries to hack into a user's Facebook account once installed, adding that the defendants used accounts to display ads that often misused celebrity photos to sell goods Imitations.
The social media giant points out that the malware has been programmed to detect whether the hacked account is set up to run ads and then run ads and make the account holder pay for the ads, which is a clear violation of Facebook's Terms of Service and advertising policies.
The complaint filed before the Federal Court in San Francisco seeks unspecified damages and bans on Facebook fraudsters. The platform said: This type of lawsuits is rare, and that since April has informed hundreds of thousands of users that their accounts may have been compromised .
Menlo Park, Calif., Has indicated that it has returned more than $ 4 million in refunds to customers whose accounts were used by ILikeAd to display unauthorized ads, and according to the complaint, ILikeAd has promoted itself as a comprehensive solution for advertisers hoping to market their products on Facebook.
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