Threat Detector

Scans any public page — Facebook Ad Library, Instagram, TikTok Creative Center, Google Ads Transparency, or any website — for scam ads, malicious links, and fake accounts. Each finding gets a severity score (0–100) and a recommended action.

Built after spending too much time manually hunting phishing campaigns and fake ad accounts across platforms.

---

What it detects

• Scam ads — fake prizes, phishing language, too-good-to-be-true offers (20+ built-in patterns)
• Malicious links — shortened URLs, suspicious domains, known dangerous TLDs
• Fake accounts — numeric usernames, multiple suspicious outbound links, thin content

Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, and any public URL.

---

How to use it

1. Open the Actor and click Try for free
2. Paste the URLs you want to scan — ad library pages, search results, profiles, or any public page
3. Choose detection modes (scam ads / malicious links / fake accounts — or all three)
4. Optionally add custom keywords to flag beyond the built-in list
5. Enable VirusTotal if you have an API key for deeper link analysis
6. Click Start — results appear in the Output tab

Good URLs to scan

Platform	What to paste
Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?q=YOUR_KEYWORD
Google Ads	https://adstransparency.google.com/?region=anywhere
TikTok	https://ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter/inspiration/topads/pc/en
Any website	The direct URL of any public page

---

Input

Field	Description	Default
URLs to scan	Public pages to analyse	Facebook Ad Library, Google Ads, TikTok
Detection modes	scam_ads / malicious_links / fake_accounts	all
Custom keywords	Extra terms to flag on top of built-in list	—
VirusTotal check	Send suspicious links to VirusTotal	off
VirusTotal API key	Free key at virustotal.com	—
Max items per page	Links to extract per page	30
Proxy	Apify Proxy for reliable access	off

---

Output

Each detected threat includes:

{
  "url": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?q=bitcoin",
  "platform": "facebook",
  "threatType": "scam_ad",
  "severity": "high",
  "severityScore": 64,
  "title": "Earn $5000/week from home — guaranteed!",
  "advertiser": "FastMoney2024",
  "suspiciousLinks": ["https://bit.ly/xK92mP"],
  "flaggedKeywords": ["make money fast", "guaranteed"],
  "fakeAccountSignals": [],
  "evidence": [
    "keyword: \"make money fast\"",
    "suspicious link: https://bit.ly/xK92mP"
  ],
  "recommendation": "Report this scam_ad to the platform.",
  "scannedAt": "2026-09-20T10:00:00.000Z"
}

Severity: low → medium → high → critical based on stacked signals.

---

VirusTotal integration

Enable Check links on VirusTotal and add your API key to run every suspicious link through 70+ antivirus engines. Free accounts get 500 requests/day.

Get a free key at virustotal.com.

---

Tips

• Paste Ad Library search URLs with specific keywords for best results (bitcoin, free iphone, make money...)
• Add your own keywords for industry-specific scams (crypto, health supplements, fake scholarships...)
• Enable Apify Proxy if you're scanning pages that block automated access
• Treat results as a triage list — review high/critical findings before reporting

---

Pricing

Pay per platform usage — you only pay for compute time. A typical scan of 5 pages costs under $0.05.

---

Legal

Scans public pages only. No login required, no private data accessed. You're responsible for complying with each platform's terms of service and applicable laws in your jurisdiction. Do not use for surveillance or targeted harassment.

---

Issues / requests

Open an issue via Apify Console or reach out through the messaging tab. Adding more detection patterns regularly as new scam trends appear.