We recently received a concerning message from Martha of East Millinocket, Maine. She contacted us to share her distressing experience related to her small business' Facebook page. Here's what she had to say:
"I have a small business (it's been inactive due to my husband's illness for 3 years), but we have a website that we hoped we can be able to use eventually. We have a Facebook page that we have never really used for business. Suddenly last week, I noticed we had deductions from Facebook for $400+ numerous times. We can't afford this. I went on to FB and found my advertising limit had been adjusted to $400. I did not do this, but they are draining our checking account dry. Do I report to the FCC or what? I really could use some advice on how to proceed. Thank you."
- MARTHA, East Millinocket, ME
Thanks, Martha. The scammers behind this scheme typically gain access to a person's Facebook advertising account and make unauthorized changes to the payment settings. They increase the advertising limit and start running ads that may or may not be related to the actual business. The scammers aim to drain the victim's checking account by charging large amounts for these unauthorized ads.
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There are several things I want to address here. The first is how you can combat those unauthorized Facebook charges, and the second is how these scammers can get into your Facebook account to begin with, and what you can do to prevent it from happening.
Facebook makes it easy for you to pay for things online through their two services, Meta Pay and Ads payments. Ads payments allow you to pay for ads you want to put on Facebook, while Meta Pay is simply a way for you to make payments on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and in participating online stores. However, having these conveniences also comes with the risk of having someone hack into your account, obtain your information, and drain your bank account, like what happened to Martha.
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There are multiple ways that a person can gain access to your Facebook account. Some people might have weak passwords, while others may have their information, like their email address and phone number, on their public profile.
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If you know that a payment has been made from your Facebook account that you did not authorize, there are steps for you to let Facebook know that it wasn't you. Here are the steps to follow.
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I would also advise you to contact your bank or credit card company about the unauthorized purchase. If you have a debit or credit card attached to your Facebook account, your bank or credit card company should be able to help you take the necessary steps to get your money back.
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Also known as 2FA, two-factor authentication has become a standard security setting. While it might seem annoying to follow a few extra steps to log in to your Facebook account, it’s worth it to protect your account from anyone else getting in.
Two-factor authentication means you have to approve a login on a separate device. So you’ll need to enable this feature on a desktop computer and then make sure you have the Facebook mobile app installed and logged in on your smartphone. Here are the steps for enabling two-factor authentication.
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Set up login alerts
You should also set up login alerts so that you will be notified if anyone logs into your account from an unauthorized device. Here are the steps for setting up login alerts.
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Martha can consider filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their website, www.ftc.gov, or by contacting their Consumer Response Center. While the FTC does not resolve individual complaints, they use consumer complaints to investigate patterns of fraudulent activity and take legal action against scammers.
Having a good and hard-to-guess password is one of the best things you can do for your Facebook account. Repeating a password across multiple accounts is never a good idea because if there is ever a data breach and your login information gets leaked, then you could be at risk of a hacker gaining access to all your accounts.
Consider using a password manager to securely store and generate complex passwords. It will help you to create unique and difficult-to-crack passwords that a hacker could never guess. Second, it also keeps track of all your passwords in one place and fills passwords in for you when you're logging into an account so that you never have to remember them yourself. The fewer passwords you remember, the less likely you will be to reuse them for your accounts.
What qualities should I look for in a password manager?
When it comes to choosing the best password manager for you, here are some of my top tips.
Check out my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2023 by heading to CyberGuy.com/Passwords
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Martha's distressing experience with unauthorized charges on her Facebook account highlights the prevalence of scams targeting small businesses. Scammers gain access to Facebook advertising accounts, increase the advertising limit, and drain victims' checking accounts by running unauthorized ads. To combat unauthorized charges, it is important to report the issue to Facebook, the FTC and contact the bank or credit card company to recover the funds. Preventive measures include enabling two-factor authentication, setting up login alerts, and using strong and unique passwords managed by a password manager. By implementing these security measures, you can better protect yourself against these online scams and unauthorized access to your accounts.
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