There seems to be an increase in fraudsters targeting Facebook Business Pages. Many of my clients have come to me recently with concerns about the ‘permanent page deletion’ scam. Like a nasty cold, it seems to be doing the rounds! Spotting Facebook Business Page scams can be difficult, but I wanted to share how this scam works, how to avoid it and how to report it to Facebook.
Scam Facebook messages to your business page
Your business Facebook page will probably receive a message saying your Facebook business page is going to be deleted. Please see below images that some of my clients have received recently:
Whatever you do don’t click the link!
If you click it, you’ll be asked to login to a website that looks very similar to Facebook, but when you enter your log in information the scammers then have control of your Facebook page and could take it over. We don’t want that!
The link leads to a website impersonating Meta. It may even contain genuine links to Meta’s privacy policy, to try to provide an element of authenticity and trick you further. If you do get this far into the scam, the fake website you’ve been led to will probably ask for your personal details.
It’s unclear exactly what scammers intend to do with these details. Fraudsters often use intel gathered on you to engineer a scam and target you later or to access your online accounts. They could also take control of your Facebook Business Page.
How to spot Facebook scams on your business page
If you get a suspicious email or message claiming to be from Facebook, don’t click any links or attachments. You can view recent emails sent from Facebook in your Facebook settings to ensure that it came from Meta (Facebook) and not a scammer.
Tips to keep your account secure:
- Don’t click suspicious links: If you get a suspicious email, text or social media message claiming to be from Facebook, don’t click any links or attachments. First, check in your Facebook settings to see whether it came from Facebook.
- Do not download files or software coming from people that you don’t know: Use caution when installing browser extensions and third-party apps, particularly when they offer functionality that sounds too good to be true or require you to log in with your social media credentials before even using them.
Strengthen your online security:
- Enable two-factor authentication to add an extra security layer to your accounts across the Internet. Two-factor authentication is one of the most effective tools for combating account compromise attempts.
- Never reuse your password across multiple websites.
- Use trusted antivirus software. It is important to keep this software up to date and scan your devices for malware regularly.
- Turn on login alerts so that you’ll be notified if someone is trying to access your account. Make sure that you review your previous sessions to ensure that you recognise which devices have access to your account.
- Visit the Security Checkup tool to help secure your account.
- Enable business notifications so that you’ll be alerted of any changes happening within your Meta Business Manager account.
Reporting Facebook scams
To report a scam group, page or profile on Facebook, select the three dots on the right-hand side of the page and click ‘report’. You can also report scam websites to the National Cyber Security Centre on its website.
Here To Help
If you are still worrying about this or have any questions about the security of your Facebook Business Page, do get in touch, I’d be happy to reassure you and double check anything you are concerned about. Get in touch here.
