Facebook Trademark Scam Targets Businesses and Charities

Managing Multiple Facebook Pages

I have the privilege and responsibility of managing about 25 Facebook pages. Each one has its own content, audience, comments, and messages. And while I have teams to help with most of them, it can still get overwhelming, especially on the pages where I am the only team member.

For those pages, I had to tweak my settings to make things more manageable. One big change was turning on notifications for new messages. On most of my other pages, I keep this off because I would be getting alerts nonstop and I just don't have the bandwidth for that. But for the smaller pages, it makes a huge difference since I am not checking the inbox as often.

CANVA/BBB

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Violating Trademark Rights Facebook Message

Over the weekend, I noticed almost all my smaller pages got an identical message from 'Meta." It said,

Your Facebook page is scheduled to be permanently removed due to violating our trademark rights. We made this decision after careful consideration and in compliance with our intellectual property protection policies.

If you believe this is a misunderstanding, we kindly ask you to submit a complaint so we can review it before removing the page from Facebook.

We understand that this situation may impact your ongoing business operations. However, please note that if we do not receive your complaint, our decision will be final.

Learn more: LINK

Your cooperation and understanding are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

Don't Click the Link - It's a SCAM

I looked into it and quickly realized it was a scam, so I ignored it. But when I saw a local charity post something similar today asking if it was a scam, I figured it was worth repeating that these messages should be deleted immediately, and you should NEVER click the link.

If you ever receive a copyright claim, it will come as a notification, not a message. We get them pretty often on my church's page. We pay a copyright usage fee, but when streaming live video, the system usually just picks up the audio and asks us to verify that we have the rights.

Second, this didn't come directly from Meta. It came from an individual. Even if something does come from "Meta" verify that it has a checkbox next to the name.

According to the BBB, this scam is a phishing scam. You click the link they provide and they have access to your computer. When you log into your accounts, they have access to your information.

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How to Verify

The BBB has some tips if you get a similar message but still aren't sure if it's a scam.

Think twice before responding to urgent emails you aren’t expecting.
Never give up your business information to a stranger.
Verify the information on your own or get a second opinion.
- If you receive an email saying your trademark or patent is not registered correctly, confirm the information first. Do not respond to the email. Visit the USPTO website and search for your business’s patent or trademark. If you want a second opinion, look for trusted trademark attorneys on BBB.org.

You can also contact Facebook directly via the help and support option. You can find that in the top right dropdown menu on your Facebook page.

DELETE DELETE DELETE

It's also important to delete the conversation or move it to Spam so that no one else will accidentally click the link.

How to Turn Off the @everyone tag on Facebook

Lately, I've been really annoyed by the constant use of the @everyone tag on Facebook. While I can’t quite pinpoint why it annoys me so much, I found out there’s a way to turn off those notifications if you know where to look!

Gallery Credit: Ashley S.