Malware represents one of the most common cyberattacks on Facebook, with hackers continuously innovating new ways to trick users and businesses into downloading fake tools that steal their data. And this week, a team of security researchers at Malwarebytes reported that they’ve noticed an uptick in sponsored posts and accounts that are impersonating Facebook’s Ad Manager tool and promising better ad optimization to users. According to the researchers, they only discovered this new threat when the bad actors behind it accidentally revealed their own stolen data.

Bad actors like this are experts at preying on the interests and vulnerabilities of Facebook users. For instance, what business owner wouldn’t want to reach more people with their advertising?

“Business users may be tempted to optimize their ad campaigns on Facebook by clicking on certain posts and downloading programs that claim to increase their earnings,” Malwarebytes wrote in its report. “This is, however, a very dangerous practice even if (or especially if) the instructions claim that the software is secure and free of malware. Remember that there is no silver bullet and anything that sounds too good to be true may very well be a scam in disguise.”

Thankfully, these hackers were sloppy and accidentally revealed their own work. However, there are thousands more campaigns just like it, so it always pays to be vigilant when downloading anything at all from Facebook.

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