Have you received alarming messages that your Facebook page is at risk of being deleted? These may be fraudulent messages trying to steal your login details. This article exposes the “Your Facebook Page Will Be Deleted” scam and shares advice to stay safe.
The “Your Facebook Page Will Be Deleted” scam is a viral phishing campaign targeting owners of Facebook pages with alarming messages that their page is soon to be permanently removed due to policy violations. These messages pretend to come from Facebook itself through official notification channels.
However, in reality they aim to trick page admins into urgently clicking links to appeal imminent deletion. The links go to convincing but fake Facebook login portals operated by scammers to capture account credentials and hijack access to the threatened pages, as well as the admins’ personal Facebook profiles.
Once scammers gain access, they can post dangerous, illegal or offensive content under the page’s brand, message followers to spread more scams, access financial data, place unauthorized ads, or anything else the legitimate admin could do. This threatens years of hard work building audiences and poses severe risks to brand reputation.
By triggering desperation to save pages recipients have invested heavily in, scammers convince savvy users to override caution and hand over login credentials without proper vetting, delivering account access on a silver platter.
Scam Mediums and Messages
The “Your Facebook Page Will Be Deleted” scam messages reach recipients through:
Facebook Messages: Direct messages send to page owners and admins within Facebook Messenger.
Text Messages: SMS texts sent to any associated mobile numbers listed in page contact info.
Emails: Messages sent to email addresses connected to Facebook accounts with page admin access.
These messages pretend to come from Facebook’s official verified accounts, using Facebook branding and legalese language. Examples state:
Urgent Notification Your Facebook page “Awesome Brand” has repeatedly violated platform policies regarding unauthorized copyrighted content sharing. As per our repeat infringement penalties, this page will be permanently deleted within 24 hours. To file an appeal challenging this decision, visit our Facebook verification portal here immediately: www.facebookcopyrightappeal.com
The messages allege various violations based on Facebook’s Terms of Service, Community Standards, or copyright rules as justifications for deletion. This includes accusations of:
Sharing copyrighted videos or media without licensing permissions
Posting dangerous, illegal or regulated content
Running ads without properly disclosing sponsorship
Impersonating or misrepresenting brand identities
Automated posting from unauthorized third-party apps
Threatening urgent, irreversible consequences pressures recipients to hastily click links without close inspection that would reveal inconsistencies exposing the scam nature.
How Access is Hijacked
When a worried page admin clicks appeal links within scam warning messages, they are taken to sophisticated fake login portals carefully impersonating Facebook’s real account access sites.
These scam sites precisely mimic the visual design, text, images and URLs of Facebook to appear convincingly legitimate. Most users get tricked into entering their login email and password, which transfers full account access to scammers.
From there, scammers log into both the admin’s personal profile and their managed Facebook pages. This allows criminal activities like:
Posting dangerous misinformation or illegal content under an established brand’s reach
Messaging followers with phishing links to steal identities or install malware
Accessing stored payment credentials and making fraudulent purchases
Running ads linked to financial scams without the brand’s knowledge
Collecting and stealing valuable audience data history
In essence, scammers assume complete control and administration capabilities for the compromised Facebook presence. Even if passwords get changed later, extensive damage can be done to years of constructed reputation in only hours or minutes.
Brand trust and audience connection carefully built around authenticity and quality content gets destroyed virtually instantaneously. This is why staying vigilant against social sabotage keeps communities safe, while reporting rather than engaging with scams helps protect collective knowledge and public discourse around important topics.
Who Gets Targeted?
The “Your Facebook Page Will Be Deleted” scam threatens a wide range of page types including:
Small businesses using Facebook to reach customers
Community organizations and social causes building local support
Public figures and influencers engaging fans
Group administrators overseeing member conversations
Event coordinators promoting upcoming happenings
Charities fundraising donations or volunteers
Essentially any organization or entity investing time into growing an audience on Facebook is vulnerable. Losing access threatens marketing pipelines, grassroots mobilization and operational coordination relying on unimpeded connectivity.
Scammers mass blast untold numbers of messages to random pages daily, knowing even a minor success rate still yields profitable numbers of hijacked accounts. There is also potential for specifically targeting high-value pages around election cycles, controversies, crises or breaking news events when influencing public narratives proves most impactful.
By understanding the scam methodology, page owners can avoid knee-jerk reactions to preserve integrity of vital community resources.
How the Scam Works
The “Your Facebook Page Will Be Deleted” scam starts with page owners, group admins or other creators receiving concerning messages about their page containing:
Urgent Notification Your Facebook page “[Page Name]” will be permanently deleted within 24 hours due to repeated violations of our platform policies regarding prohibited content sharing.
Threatening imminent and irreversible deletion heightens the recipient’s fears of losing their page they potentially invested heavily in building up an audience for over many years.
The initial message continues with details saying:
We have made this decision after extensive review showing multiple posts sharing or linking to copyrighted videos and media files without necessary permissions. This infringes the Facebook Terms of Service Appendix C, Section 3 on intellectual property rights.
Lending legitimacy, the message cites specific sections of Facebook’s real terms related to copyright issues. However, no such unauthorized posts exist.
After panicking the recipient that years of hard work could soon be erased, the scammers then provide hope, saying:
If you believe this is a mistake, you may follow the appeal process below to request restoring your page access before deletion:
Visit [scam website]
Login with your page administrator Facebook account credentials
Fill in the page restoration request form
Our review team will assess your appeal within 24 hours
A professional looking, urgent appeal process makes the message seem credible on first glance. However, the site is a fake.
Recipients who hastily click and attempt logging in with their page admin credentials inadvertently hand over their login details to the scammers.
After capturing the credentials, scammers gain full access to both administer the recipient’s page and exploit their personal profile. Potential damage includes:
Posting dangerous, offensive or illegal content under the page’s brand
Messaging followers to spread more scams or malware
Accessing and stealing valuable audience data
Viewing stored payment info and making fraudulent purchases
Placing unauthorized ads, costing the page owner money
By triggering desperate reactions rather than careful scrutiny, scammers convince even savvy Facebook users to surrender crucial login access, letting criminals hijack brands and platforms they depend on.
How to Spot the “Your Facebook Page Will Be Deleted” Scam
While the urgent warning messages seem worrisome at first glance, several subtle signs reveal their fraudulent nature:
1. Lack of Specific Details
Authentic warnings specify exactly which content violated policies. Scam warnings remain vague with no evidence, only mentioning “repeated violations”.
2. Suspicious Sender Details
Messages pretend to be from Facebook teams, but senders on inspection don’t match official channels like “Facebook Copyright Division”.
3. Logical Flaws
Facebook allows reasonable timeframes to fix compliance issues before permanent deletion. But scam threats demand impossible urgent appeals within 24 hours.
4. Spelling and Grammar Irregularities
Professional warnings avoid awkward syntax or spelling mistakes, while scam messages often contain subtle linguistic mistakes exposing their scam nature.
5. Deceptive Link Destinations
While using Facebook’s name and branding, scam links on closer inspection go to different domains unrelated to Facebook.
6. Login Portal Inconsistencies
Fake login portals imitate Facebook precisely but have subtle design or text differences upon close examination.
7. No Native App Notifications
Facebook communicates policy violations within the platform and mobile app notifications for authenticity, not just external messages.
Staying observant for these suspicious characteristics helps avoid falling for scams by picking up on inconsistencies that don’t match Facebook’s real processes. When in doubt, reach out to Facebook directly through official channels to verify any concerning alerts.
What to do if you have fallen victim
If you entered your login credentials on a suspicious page deletion appeal site, your account may be compromised. Take these steps immediately:
Reset your password
Change your Facebook password immediately to lock the scammers out. Enable two-factor authentication for extra security on your account going forward.
Review page and profile activity
Check your page and personal profile’s posts, messages, payments, and ads sections for any unauthorized changes. Delete anything suspicious posted in your name.
Run antivirus scans
Scan all your devices with Malwarebytes in case malware was installed allowing remote access or spying on your activity for future scams.
Alert your followers
Post on your page admitting it was compromised and that any recent posts, messages or ads are fraudulent. Apologize for the confusion.
Report to Facebook
Report the scam message, website and unauthorized access to Facebook detailing everything known about the incident. Provide links, screenshots and profiles.
Monitor future activity
Keep watch over your page and profile in the coming weeks for any further unusual behavior. Change settings to require approving posts first before they are visible.
Change other passwords
Update passwords for your email, financial accounts or anywhere else you reused the same credentials. Enable multi-factor authentication whenever possible going forward.
Staying vigilant when managing important assets like Facebook pages protects not just investments of money and time, but also hard-earned reputation among audiences built on trust.
Is Your Device Infected? Scan for Malware
If your computer or phone is slow, showing unwanted pop-ups, or acting strangely, malware could be the cause. Running a scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free is one of the most reliable ways to detect and remove harmful software. The free version can identify and clean common infections such as adware, browser hijackers, trojans, and other unwanted programs.
Malwarebytes works on Windows, Mac, and Android devices. Choose your operating system below and follow the steps to scan your device and remove any malware that might be slowing it down.
Malwarebytes for WindowsMalwarebytes for MacMalwarebytes for Android
Run a Malware Scan with Malwarebytes for Windows
Malwarebytes stands out as one of the leading and widely-used anti-malware solutions for Windows, and for good reason. It effectively eradicates various types of malware that other programs often overlook, all at no cost to you. When it comes to disinfecting an infected device, Malwarebytes has consistently been a free and indispensable tool in the battle against malware. We highly recommend it for maintaining a clean and secure system.
Download Malwarebytes
Download the latest version of Malwarebytes for Windows using the official link below. Malwarebytes will scan your computer and remove adware, browser hijackers, and other malicious software for free.
(The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes)
Install Malwarebytes
After the download is complete, locate the MBSetup file, typically found in your Downloads folder. Double-click on the MBSetup file to begin the installation of Malwarebytes on your computer. If a User Account Control pop-up appears, click “Yes” to continue the Malwarebytes installation.
Follow the On-Screen Prompts to Install Malwarebytes
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, the setup wizard will guide you through the process.
You’ll first be prompted to choose the type of computer you’re installing the program on—select either “Personal Computer” or “Work Computer” as appropriate, then click on Next.
Malwarebytes will now begin the installation process on your device.
When the Malwarebytes installation is complete, the program will automatically open to the “Welcome to Malwarebytes” screen.
On the final screen, simply click on the Open Malwarebytes option to start the program.
Enable “Rootkit scanning”.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start, and you will see the main screen as shown below. To maximize Malwarebytes’ ability to detect malware and unwanted programs, we need to enable rootkit scanning. Click on the “Settings” gear icon located on the left of the screen to access the general settings section.
In the settings menu, enable the “Scan for rootkits” option by clicking the toggle switch until it turns blue.
Now that you have enabled rootkit scanning, click on the “Dashboard” button in the left pane to get back to the main screen.
Perform a Scan with Malwarebytes.
To start a scan, click the Scan button. Malwarebytes will automatically update its antivirus database and begin scanning your computer for malicious programs.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will now scan your computer for browser hijackers and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Quarantine detected malware
Once the Malwarebytes scan is complete, it will display a list of detected malware, adware, and potentially unwanted programs. To effectively remove these threats, click the “Quarantine” button.
Malwarebytes will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the program’s quarantine.
Restart your computer.
When removing files, Malwarebytes may require a reboot to fully eliminate some threats. If you see a message indicating that a reboot is needed, please allow it. Once your computer has restarted and you are logged back in, you can continue with the remaining steps.
Once the scan completes, remove all detected threats. Your Windows computer should now be clean and running smoothly again, free of trojans, adware, and other malware.
If your current antivirus allowed this malicious program on your computer, you may want to consider purchasing Malwarebytes Premium to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:
Malwarebytes for Mac is an on-demand scanner that can destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss without costing you absolutely anything. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free, and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.
Download Malwarebytes for Mac.
You can download Malwarebytes for Mac by clicking the link below.
When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the setup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes.
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes for Mac Installer which will guide you through the installation process. Click “Continue“, then keep following the prompts to continue with the installation process.
When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.
Select “Personal Computer” or “Work Computer”.
The Malwarebytes Welcome screen will first ask you what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.
Click on “Scan”.
To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes for Mac will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for malware.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will scan your computer for adware, browser hijackers, and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Click on “Quarantine”.
When the scan has been completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malware that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
Restart computer.
Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
After scanning, delete any detected threats. Your Mac should now be free from adware, unwanted extensions, and other potentially harmful software.
If your current antivirus allowed a malicious program on your computer, you might want to consider purchasing the full-featured version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove a malicious program from your computer, please ask for help in our Mac Malware Removal Help & Support forum.
Run a Malware Scan with Malwarebytes for Android
Malwarebytes for Android automatically detects and removes dangerous threats like malware and ransomware so you don’t have to worry about your most-used device being compromised. Aggressive detection of adware and potentially unwanted programs keeps your Android phone or tablet running smooth.
Download Malwarebytes for Android.
You can download Malwarebytes for Android by clicking the link below.
In the Google Play Store, tap “Install” to install Malwarebytes for Android on your device.
When the installation process has finished, tap “Open” to begin using Malwarebytes for Android. You can also open Malwarebytes by tapping on its icon in your phone menu or home screen.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the setup process
When Malwarebytes will open, you will see the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard which will guide you through a series of permissions and other setup options. This is the first of two screens that explain the difference between the Premium and Free versions. Swipe this screen to continue. Tap on “Got it” to proceed to the next step. Malwarebytes for Android will now ask for a set of permissions that are required to scan your device and protect it from malware. Tap on “Give permission” to continue. Tap on “Allow” to permit Malwarebytes to access the files on your phone.
Update database and run a scan with Malwarebytes for Android
You will now be prompted to update the Malwarebytes database and run a full system scan.
Click on “Update database” to update the Malwarebytes for Android definitions to the latest version, then click on “Run full scan” to perform a system scan.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will now start scanning your phone for adware and other malicious apps. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Click on “Remove Selected”.
When the scan has been completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes for Android has detected. To remove the malicious apps that Malwarebytes has found, tap on the “Remove Selected” button.
Restart your phone.
Malwarebytes for Android will now remove all the malicious apps that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your device.
When the scan is finished, remove all detected threats. Your Android phone should now be free of malicious apps, adware, and unwanted browser redirects.
If your current antivirus allowed a malicious app on your phone, you may want to consider purchasing the full-featured version of Malwarebytes to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still having problems with your phone after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:
Restore your phone to factory settings by going to Settings > General management > Reset > Factory data reset.
After cleaning your device, it’s important to protect it from future infections and annoying pop-ups. We recommend installing an ad blocker such as AdGuard. AdGuard blocks malicious ads, prevents phishing attempts, and stops dangerous redirects, helping you stay safe while browsing online.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Facebook Page Deletion Scam
This Facebook page scam tricks owners into surrendering access with threats of permanent deletion. Navigating the complex platform policies around security and content management brings understandable questions. Outlining common concerns empowers page admins to identify and respond appropriately to fraudulent threats aiming to undermine brand integrity through social spaces.
Are the warning messages real or phishing scams?
Messages threatening imminent page deletion over policy violations without specific evidence are almost always fraudulent phishing scams aiming to steal login credentials and hijack page access. Legitimate Facebook notifications specify exact issues and allow reasonable appeal timeframes.
How do scammers send the fake warning messages?
Scammers distribute messages via Facebook Messenger, text message, and email to any associated page admin contact info listed. Messages pretend to come from Facebook support channels but inspecting sender details reveals inconsistencies.
What triggers make Facebook delete pages without warning?
Facebook only disables pages immediately without appeal chances in extreme illegal activity cases like sexual exploitation, terrorism, child safety violations, dangerous conspiracy theories or repeat serious offenses. Most notifications allow administrators to rectify issues without irreversible termination. Brand reputation or investment loss risk falsely pressures urgency in scam threats relying on policy misunderstandings.
What do scammers gain from stealing page admin access?
By hijacking established pages, scammers can post dangerous misinformation, run ads linking financial scams, collect audience data, demand ransom payments from victims desperate to save their brand’s presence after losing control, and orchestrate other forms of fraud – essentially anything page owners themselves can do.
What techniques convince even savvy users that messages are authentic?
From precise visual impersonation of Facebook interfaces to citing real platform policy sections like Terms of Service, scammers thoroughly replicate legitimate authority markers. Victim psychology around risk of losing valuable time investments building audiences also overrides logical scrutiny that would reveal inconsistencies exposing fraudulent threats.
How can Facebook page owners avoid removal policy violations?
Carefully review platform rules around sharing copyrighted material, running ads transparently, aggregating news articles, and prohibitions on dangerous regulated goods or services commerce. Seek official guidance from Facebook for managing complex content areas. Prioritizing audience value and discussion quality fosters organic engagement growth.
Equipping page managers with insights around appealing to fears of irreversible damages makes recognizing related social sabotage scams easier. siempreSharing security experience also keeps wider business and interest communities protected in an increasingly digitally connected world.
The Bottom Line
The “Your Facebook Page Will Be Deleted” scam delivers alarming warnings to panic recipients into surrendering account access rather than scrutinizing inconsistencies exposing the messages’ fraudulent nature.
Page owners should remain skeptical of any alerts threatening permanent deletion and instead report concerning messages directly to Facebook through official channels for verification.
With proper awareness and secure password habits, page administrators can confidently identify scams aiming to jeopardize brand integrity and community trust. Sharing knowledge of common tactics also better protects followers and visitors interacting with platforms powering modern communication.
Thomas is an expert at uncovering scams and providing in-depth reporting on cyber threats and online fraud. As an editor, he is dedicated to keeping readers informed on the latest developments in cybersecurity and tech.
