Watch out for the "Violations Detected on Your Page" scam on Facebook

Facebook users, especially business owners, need to be on guard for bogus emails claiming to be from Facebook that tell users their personal account or Facebook page is disabled because of reported violations.

People use Facebook every day to share their experiences, stay in touch with friends and family, create groups, and do business. More than 2 billion people can freely express themselves in dozens of languages and across several cultures and nations using this service.

However, exercise caution because some people use this powerful social media platform for their own nefarious and bad purposes.

​Just today, I received a suspicious message from one of my blog pages on Facebook. Below is the image of the suspicious message.

An unsolicited Facebook message alleging that your page has been reported for terms of service violations is how this scam often starts. The notice, which looks to be from Facebook (Community Support), warns that if you do not promptly verify your identity or file an appeal, your account or Facebook page will be permanently disabled.

​There is a link that purports to take the user to Facebook's 'Account Confirmation or Request an Appeal' page. The URL, however, really leads to a convincing phishing site that is intended to breach accounts and steal login information.

​The purpose of the meticulously prepared scam message is to elicit fear and urgency. Threats of account suspension undermine critical thought and cause users to respond impulsively by clicking the misleading link.

You are asked to provide your Facebook login information when you arrive at the false confirmation screen, when the scammers steal your information. From this point on, scammers have full access to submit content or advertisements using your connections and identities.

Remember: Scammers sometimes create fake emails that look like they’re from Facebook. These emails often look like:
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• Notifications about friend requests, messages, events, photos and videos.
• False claims that you went against Facebook Community Standards.
• Warnings that something will happen to your account if you don't update it or take a certain action.
• Claims or offers that sound too good to be true (such as winning a Facebook Lottery.)

What to do?

Therefore, take the following actions right once if you believe the 'Violations Detected On Your Page' scam or similar phishing assault has infiltrated your Facebook account:

• Log out of all active sessions.
• Make a password change.
• Make two-factor authentication available.
• Verify the associated apps.
• Examine recent messages and posts.
• Examine your activity log or history.
• Run a virus checker.

Remember: Facebook will never ask you for your password in an email or send you a password as an attachment.

Facebook advises against opening any attachments or opening an email that seems off. Instead, report it via the report links that appear all throughout Facebook or by sending an email to [email protected].​