Tapping on the ad opens up a fake Clubhouse for PC website. A link is included that when tapped, downloads malware onto the victim’s device. The malicious app seeks instructions from a C&C (command and control) server about what to do next.
Some victims’ devices were loaded with ransomware that demanded money from the infected device owner so that his device would be allowed to work again. The fake Clubhouse websites, were hosted in Russia. Facebook wouldn’t say how many clicks the fake ads received but it was discovered that nine ads were posted on Facebook last week from Tuesday through Thursday.
The fake ads tried to entice Facebook users by saying that Clubhouse “is now available for PC” alongside a photo of co-founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth. The ads have since been removed from Facebook’s ad library. For the safety of your devices, remember that Clubhouse is only available for iOS at this point.