Science

Facebook users report being locked out of accounts for nearly a month after flagging spam


Facebook users report being locked out of their accounts for nearly a MONTH after flagging scams and fake accounts

  • Facebook has locked out some users for reporting fake messages
  • It’s unclear what is causing users to be banned but many cannot regain access
  • A photo ID failsafe meant to help users gain access has not worked
  • Some users have been locked out for as long as 23 days 

Facebook users say the platform has been banning them for reporting spam and fake accounts.  

In a hashtag on Twitter, #FacebookLockout, users say they have been booted from Facebook for up to a week after attempting to alert the company that they received a fraudulent message. 

As reported by Mashable, among the users was Cory Comer who only recently had access restored to his account after reporting a suspected scam message last week. 

Facebook users are being locked out of their accounts after reporting scammers and fradulent messages sent by other users (File photo)

Facebook users are being locked out of their accounts after reporting scammers and fradulent messages sent by other users (File photo)

‘I had an old colleague of mine add me on Facebook as a friend. After I accepted the request, he reached out to me on Messenger and asked me to give him money,’ Comer told Mashable. 

‘So I was like, ‘Alright, you’re not Dave’ and I reported them. Just a few hours later, I was locked out of my account.’

After being locked out, Facebook is reportedly asking users to provide some form of ID in order to reclaim their account, however, that failsafe has not worked as planned.

Even after providing photo ID, users have remained locked out of their accounts without adequate technical support, sometimes for nearly a month.

‘My account has been locked 23 days now with zero assistance in any form from Facebook,’ Kara Missione told Mashable, adding that it has also affected her professional life.

‘I run a large part of my business on Facebook and we pay significant ad costs…I’ve lost income. Financially and emotionally it’s been a hit.’ 

Part of the problem, reports Mashasble, is that in order to receive support for their accounts, users are required to login to the very accounts that they’ve been booted from. 

Other pleas sent to customer support have gone unanswered, reports Mashable.  

In some cases, the scammers triggering the lock outs had been impersonating people – dead or alive – close to users.

‘My friends dead grandma requested me, when I reported her I got locked out. This is happening all over and FB is not helping,’ tweeted one user. 

Facebook says that it has rectified the issue, saying it inadvertently required users to verify their accounts but did not elaborate on the root cause.

‘We worked quickly to fix an issue where we unnecessarily asked some people to verify their accounts after they reported account impersonation for someone else,’ said a spokesperson.

‘We’ve removed this request and restored access to the affected accounts.’





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.