Scam Warning: Facebook Intellectual Property Email is Fake
A new phishing scam email has been making the rounds and claims to warn the user about important intellectual property infringement that has happened on their Facebook (sometimes Instagram) profile. While most people click the email when they see it, as copyright infringement is a serious offense, there’s good reason to steer your cursor in the other direction to report the message immediately. If you have seen any copies of the Facebook or Instagram intellectual property email, don’t click it!
Scam Warning: Facebook Intellectual Property Email is Fake
The Facebook or Instagram intellectual property email has been sent to thousands of users. Many Facebook users have made the mistake of clicking on the email. However, the message is a known phishing email scam that is designed to allow hackers to gain access to your account after entering your login credentials to steal user data. In some cases, hackers will then log in to your account and take complete control of your social media accounts.
Here’s what the Facebook intellectual property email claims when you receive it, and why it could be one of the most dangerous phishing scams out there right now.
The Facebook Intellectual Property Email
The Facebook intellectual property email is a new fake copyright violation scam message that has been doing the rounds. This message is most likely to go straight to your email inbox and sometimes even avoids spam detection.
While some users have found their copies in the spam folder, the fact that the email appears so close to real can fool most bots into letting it past the spam inbox and into the legitimate inbox.
What makes this email look authentic is the Facebook logo, the authentic tone (often with very few spelling mistakes), and the fact that the email address bar is spoofed to look like it comes from Facebook itself.
It doesn’t mean that you should be fooled, and fall victim to this scam, however.
While some virus checkers and keen website users will miss the fact that this message is a scam, the email is completely fake.
A Classic Phishing Scam
The Facebook intellectual property email is the classic phishing scam that has been going around for quite some time. Some details have been updated to make the email appear as if it comes from the administrators of the Facebook team instead of from a telephone company.
The basic elements of the phishing scam still remain the same.
An urgent issue prompts the user to click on a link in the email. The message will typically claim that this action has to happen as soon as possible or your individual Facebook page or Facebook business account will be deleted in 24 hours.
Once you’ve clicked the link within a fake message, you’ve gone too far – and you could be hacked, with your Facebook login credentials stolen. An element is added to the scam in the form of a message that prompts the user to fill in their username, password, or other personal information about themselves.
The scam replicates the same result as hundreds of others, though the new Facebook account hacking angle has managed to catch out even some smart internet users without raising any red flags.
What Phishing Does
Phishing might look legitimate on the surface, but they are not. What the email claims, is never what the email delivers.
Instead of a means to secure your content or account, phishing does the opposite and exposes all of your most important information or system access points to hackers.
Phishing is meant to confuse even the most internet-wise users, and unfortunately, they too often manage. When an email looks like it comes from your bank (or from Facebook), it’s just true that people are more likely to click on it.
Don’t Click It
Not everyone out there has a copy of the Facebook intellectual property email because not everyone would have gotten the scam in their email.
However, if it does appear in your inbox, the most important thing you should do about the email is this:
Don’t click it!
If you click the link, you risk the exposure of your own information or system. The resulting virus could also access sensitive personal information, as well as your contacts, and spread this message even further to everyone you know.
How Does Facebook Contact Users?
While the email appears to be legitimate and from Facebook, it isn’t. This is the biggest misunderstanding among people who decide to click on the link.
Facebook will not usually contact a user like this for issues. Instead, notifications that are actually related to your account will appear through your account, and you will be able to visit the official Facebook Support Inbox to confirm it.
For real copyright infringement reports, a form has to be filled out. This can only be done through official Facebook channels. As a good rule of thumb, always check the sender’s address before clicking on any links in an email. In the case of an email stating it is from the Facebook Support Team, DO NOT CLICK ANY LINKS.
Learn more about reporting copyright infringement on Facebook.
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