Have you recently received an urgent message on Facebook from an account named ‘Meta Business Support’?
You’re not alone.
First things first: you could be looking at the latest scam targeting Australian business owners.
This scam only just went viral at the start of August, but is quickly spreading to many Facebook business pages.
Read on to discover if your business is being targeted and how you can stay safe.
What Exactly Is The Scam?
This newly developed scam – labeled as the meta business support scam – typically goes as follows:
Your Facebook business page will receive a message from an account called “Meta Business Support.”
This message will say something along the lines of:
- Your Facebook business page has breached policy guidelines, repeatedly
- Your page will be banned and/or deleted with a short period of time
- Unless you fill out your details in a form behind a link
The account messaging you will even have the Meta Business Suite logo on it.
This account and message look very legitimate, especially if you are not familiar with Facebook’s digital branding.
To be clear: this is a malicious phishing scam and you should not click on the link provided.
This account is not linked to Meta or Facebook in any way.
How Can You Tell It’s A Scam?
There are a few telltale signs to look out for when identifying this message as a scam:
1. Meta will never message you privately through Facebook. Instead, all Meta representatives will email the owner of your Facebook business page.
2. Meta representatives will never provide you with a link and ask you to fill it out
3. Upon closer inspection, you will notice that the URL link is not a registered Facebook link: it has the letter “m” just before “Facebook.”
4. Meta will never threaten to delete or ban your business page
5. Instead, you will receive a notification in the “Page Quality” section of your business suite should you accidentally breach any policy guidelines, rather than a direct message
What Should You Do Next?
Your first port of call should be to tell your entire team that nobody should click the link!
The malicious link will take you to a phishing site that will attempt to steal your personal and business information.
Next, you should report this scam message to Meta immediately.
Lastly, feel free to delete the message. Leaving it around may increase the chances of someone on your team accidentally clicking the link.
Can You Prevent Your Page From Being Targeted?
No. Unfortunately there is no way as of yet to prevent these messages being sent to your Facebook business page.
Meta is hard at work removing these scammers from the platform. The scam has already been reported by hundreds of Australian business owners.
Your best bet is to never click any links sent to you on Facebook unless you know the person personally.
Now That Your Facebook Is Safe – How Are Your Finances?
Phew, now that you’re safe you can get back to focusing on your business.
If you want to pay less come tax time and grow your financial assets at the same time, then we can help!
At The A Firm, we’re Australia’s most trusted accountants and bookkeepers.
And right now we’re offering a free strategic meet and greet with our founder and CEO.
So call us today to learn how we can help your business!