This morning I received an email from Facebook…

…or what I thought was from Facebook.

But, over the years I’ve become very suspicious about certain types of emails, especially those reportily from social media networks.

Turns out that this official looking email was being sent from FacebookSupport.com which is in no way affiliated with Facebook.

It’s what’s called a Phishing scam.

A 3rd party (aka scammer) is using an “official” looking email to bait you into revealing your information.

The email has all the right triggers that might convince you it’s real.

• See Our Help Center link.
• Case Number – with an actual number
• Some reason why your page is being restricted.
• Another link to click on to secure your account.
• The address of Facebook in Palo Alto California

It’s designed that way for a reason…to trick you into clicking and giving away your log-in information.

And once you do that…the people behind this scam have your information. And, access to your friends, your posts, any pages your admin, even your credit card information if you run ads for your business.

Make it a habit before clicking on links in an “official” looking email to pause for moment and actually look at the email first.

Read it carefully.

Scrutinize it!

Check the email address the message is coming from.

Facebook, if sending you an email, will also contact you through their messaging app. So if you don’t receive a message directly from Facebook on your Facebook account and only in email form…be suspicious.

Now, if for some reason you’ve been duped into clicking the link in the email thinking it’s, in fact, from Facebook what you need to do is change your password immediately.

Also I would encourage you while changing your password to set up additional security protocols.

1. Get Alerts From Unrecognized Devices – getting alerts from unrecognized devices allows you to quickly see if someone has attempted to gain access to your account.
2. Use Two Factor Authentication – two factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by preventing others from logging into your account without a special code.
3. Choose A Few Trusted Friends To Contact If You Get Locked Out – adding a few trusted friends as a backup gives you peace of mind and a way to access your account if it’s ever compromised by a 3rd party.

Remember…if you get an email saying your Facebook account is flagged, don’t click any link until you know for certain it actually came from Facebook.

Here’s additional resources that might help to protect you against scams and phishing attempts…