Ever since the Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal, Facebook has understood it has a problem with shady third-party apps stealing user information. And unfortunately, the problem has not gone away since then. According to a report from the social media giant this week, its security researchers have identified and removed over 400 apps that were “designed to steal Facebook login information and compromise people’s accounts.”

These apps were disguised as “fun or useful” services like cameras, fitness tracking tools, horoscope providers, and more. They required a user to “log in with Facebook,” but according to the company, provided almost no function once a user was logged in. Instead, they merely served as a cover to steal users’ account info. According to the company, it will issue a warning to about 1 million users who have been affected.

“This is a highly adversarial space and while our industry peers work to detect and remove malicious software, some of these apps evade detection and make it onto legitimate app stores,” the Facebook security team wrote in a blog post. “We are… alerting people who may have unknowingly self-compromised their accounts by downloading these apps and sharing their credentials, and are helping them to secure their accounts.”

Facebook also published a guide to help users recognize scam apps when they see one, but as usual, the best practice is to simply avoid clicking links and downloading anything that you don’t 100 percent trust on the platform.

Recommended Resources

Choose what the experts use: award-winning cybersecurity you can trust and rely on.

Surf the web truly incognito. Try Bitdefender Premium VPN, the ultra-fast VPN that keeps your online identity and activities safe from hackers, ISPs and snoops.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!