Skip to main content Tom's Guide Tom's Guide Search Tom's Guide View Profile Newsletters Best Picks Entertainment Apple WWDC 2025 Switch 2 Restock Best laptops Best Mattress Wordle Today Recommended reading Online Security Subscription scams surge across hundreds of fake websites — how to stay safe Malware & Adware Malicious Android apps with 60 million installs bombarding phones with ads and phishing attacks — how to stay safe Online Security FBI issues serious warning to iPhone and Android users — stop answering these calls ASAP Online Security FTC says Americans lost $12 billion to scams last year and these were the worst ones — here's how to stay safe Online Security What to do if you’ve been gift card scammed Online Security FBI issues warning over scammers impersonating agents to steal your money NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro has already blocked over 300 million scams this year – here's how to stay safe Online Security These “great” deals on Facebook are not from Amazon, Rolex or Nordstrom – they’re from a network of scammers Amber Bouman 10 June 2025 These fake deals are designed to disappear with your payment information When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Shutterstock) If you’ve recently been tempted by a great looking advertisement on Facebook, keep scrolling. According to Cybernews, a large network of more than 4,000 domains have been impersonating dozens of popular brands in order to run fake ads across the social media site in order to tempt visitors to check out their scam websites. The aim of these threat actors is to steal money, or payment details, or both. Threat analysts at Silent Push have dubbed these scammers “GhostVendors” because they’ve discovered a way to circumvent Meta’s policy in order to cover their tracks. According to the researchers, the threat actors run their scam ads through Facebook Marketplace ads. “Meta’s policy dictates that any other types of ads are only saved while those ads are part of active campaigns.” That means that once the fake campaign ends, all proof of the scams vanish. You may like Subscription scams surge across hundreds of fake websites — how to stay safe Malicious Android apps with 60 million installs bombarding phones with ads and phishing attacks — how to stay safe FBI issues serious warning to iPhone and Android users — stop answering these calls ASAP Like any other “too good to be true” style scam, the ones in this network of thousands of websites promote very, very low prices on popular products in order to tempt victims and unwary online shoppers. Silent Push found the threat actors to be impersonating high profile brands like Amazon, Costco, Lowe’s, Crocs, Duluth Trading, Tractor Supply, Thrive Market, Yankee Candle, EGO Power+ Tools and more. The example given by Cybernews is an ad for Milwaukee Tools under the name “Milaeke” that offers a toolbox for a price of $129 under the domain name wuurkf[.]com. Other ads will use keywords like “clearance” or “holiday celebration sale” in order to make a deal seem tempting or temporary so that shoppers will act quickly. The researchers at Silent Push say the threat actors can use a domain generated algorithm (DGA) to clone templates and reproduce the offers quickly to set up dozens of fake copies for various products across categories. How to stay safe from scam ads on social media (Image credit: American Institute of Stress) Honestly, though it may sound tempting, most of your shopping just shouldn't be happening on social media in the first place. Even if you do see something that looks too good to pass up, your best bet is to note the name of the company and then independently visit their website in a web browser that you've opened yourself, and before you buy, you should first look for reviews and ratings from the Better Business Bureau or similar sites. Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. If you're buying something second hand, try to only pay cash or through a payment app like Venmo once you've received the item. If you're purchasing something that's being mailed, try to use a credit card and make sure to get a shipping number. That way, you can do a chargeback if you don't receive the item or get something that isn't at all like its description in the original listing. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and if an ad or social media post is trying to tempt you with a limited time offer, a countdown or some other form of pressure, it's suspicious at best. You can protect yourself as well by making sure you have one of the best identity theft protection services which will monitor your accounts for signs of fraud and other red flags, and one of the best antivirus software solutions which are also on the lookout out for suspicious websites, malicious behavior and of course, malware. 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With over two decades of experience working in tech journalism, Amber has written for a number of publications including PC World, Maximum PC, Tech Hive, and Engadget covering everything from smartphones to smart breast pumps. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Subscription scams surge across hundreds of fake websites — how to stay safe Malicious Android apps with 60 million installs bombarding phones with ads and phishing attacks — how to stay safe FBI issues serious warning to iPhone and Android users — stop answering these calls ASAP FTC says Americans lost $12 billion to scams last year and these were the worst ones — here's how to stay safe What to do if you’ve been gift card scammed FBI issues warning over scammers impersonating agents to steal your money Latest in Online Security Norton 360 Deluxe antivirus review Macs under threat from new malware campaign impersonating major ISP — how to stay safe Delete these 20 apps right now if you downloaded them from the Play Store — they’re malicious New AT&T data leak links previously exposed info to Social Security numbers, birth dates 5 Android settings you need to turn off right now because they’re a huge security risk More than 4 billion user records exposed in biggest data leak ever — everything you need to know Latest in News IPVanish becomes the United Rugby Championship's official VPN partner Netflix just added a new dystopian drama — and it's already 100% on Rotten Tomatoes Sonos Ace ANC headphones get 4 free updates — here's what you get How to watch England vs Senegal on ITVX today (it's FREE) Samsung Galaxy S25 is suffering from an embarrassing design quality issue — what you need to know Marvel's 'Ironheart' just got a new trailer — and now I can't wait to stream the new Disney Plus show LATEST ARTICLES Surprise! 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