Heads up: There’s a new scam in town. The latest email scam is finding its way to email inboxes and involves scammers impersonating Meta with a message about how their business page is in violation of some ethical, legal, or community standards. First things first: Don’t click anything! Here’s everything else you need to know to protect your brand, personal information, and social media pages from falling victim.
How This Scam Works
The advertising standards email scam is a type of phishing or spoof email scam where scammers pretend to represent someone from Meta (or Facebook or Instagram). This is similar to another scam that was making the rounds last year, in which scammers were reaching out directly through social media accounts via direct messages claiming disabled pages and even guest accounts, except this time, they reach out via email. They land in your inbox via a direct email or a generic address likely scraped from your brand’s website (such as an info@ email address). In the email, they explain that your advertising, content, or other social media practices are somehow in violation of the platform’s advertising standards and try to get you to click a link to either get more information or submit an appeal.
Here’s an example of verbiage you may see in one of these emails:
Referring to [your brand or page name],
We have received multiple reports concerning your page and account, indicating that certain activities may not fully align with our advertising guidelines. We encourage you to carefully review your page’s content to ensure compliance.
To resolve this matter, we invite you to submit an appeal through the secure link provided below. Complete the appeal process upon receiving this email to avert potential limitations on your account.
https://facebook.com/support/inbox/5812673182
If no actions are taken, limitations may be applied to your account and page. We value your commitment to maintaining a safe and compliant advertising environment.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Resolutely,
Meta Advertising Standards
The goal is to get you to click the link, which is to a page unaffiliated with Meta or any other major platform, and then follow next steps like submitting username and password information, financial information, or other confidential personal information. Be sure to avoid clicking the link.
How You Know It’s a Scam
There are a few indicators that an email like this is a scam. Here are some general things to look for:
A misrepresented sender. Take a very close look at the sender and, specifically, the URL associated with it. If it’s misspelled or something other than the domain specifically tied to who the sender is claiming to represent, it’s probably not legitimate.
Spelling or grammar errors. While some scam emails can be error-free, many are riddled with awkward language and mistakes. This can be a sign it’s not legitimate.
Hover over the link. Never click on a link in an email without checking where it’s actually going to send you. You can do this by hovering over the link and checking the URL that appears in the preview. If it’s different from what the link claims to be, misspelled, or otherwise incorrect, it’s likely a scam.
Urgency and action required. One tactic scammers commonly use is urgency. They want you to act without thinking through what you’re doing. If the email’s cadence conveys that urgent action is required, it can be a sign of a scam. Stop, take a breath, and investigate further before clicking anything or taking further action.
Asking for personal information. Never submit your personal information, username and passwords for account or access, bank account or credit card information, or other confidential information. That’s usually the goal behind these types of scams.
Protect Your Accounts & Access
When it comes to keeping your organization protected, Social Assurance is here to help. We’re experts in social media, social selling, digital marketing, and cross-channel strategic content, working with thousands of community banks nationwide. Our secure content management platform is designed to mitigate risk by centralizing access and controls, so your organization is less exposed to these types of scams.
Interested in how Social Assurance can help your team get a handle on social media pages, accounts, and user access permissions? Use the link below to get in touch.
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