Anyone else getting e-mails from Facebook about unauthorised access attempts?

D

Dave Vanian

Registered User
Messages
1,346
For the past while, about once a month or so, I've been receiving e-mails from Facebook...

"Hi XXX,

We received a request to reset your Facebook password.

Enter the following password reset code:"

As far as I can tell, these e-mails are genuinely from Facebook. Invariably I click on the option to report them as I didn't request a password change.

Straw poll - does anyone else receive these e-mails from time to time? I'm trying to figure out if it's just a common scam where some scammer would take over my Facebook profile and use it to distribute spam or something like that. The alternative is that someone I know is trying to log in to my Facebook account, read my private messages etc. (If it's the latter, they must be bored as my life really isn't exciting enough to warrant that.)
 
I haven't received these.

Are you sure that the report button is directing you to Facebook?
 

Haven't received any. A few people said to me recently that what the scammers are after are your bank details which may be stored if you used Facebook to pay for donations etc. which quite a number of people seem to do. I will only use Paypal for this type of stuff.
 
Yep, I've been getting these. Assume it arises from some data breach where our email addresses and passwords for another website have been leaked and the scammers are just chancing their arm?
 
I don’t get these emails.

But I spent some time on FB marketplace recently and it’s riddled with scammers. I poked around and it looks like a lot of inactive accounts get compromised.
 

Over time, I've also learned not to tick the box where a website offers to save your card details to make future purchases easier. The retailer themselves may well be 100% above board but I've no way of knowing how robust their data security is.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
I don’t get these emails.

But I spent some time on FB marketplace recently and it’s riddled with scammers. I poked around and it looks like a lot of inactive accounts get compromised.
Click to expand...

Yes I'd be very wary of buying anything at all from FB Marketplace for that very reason, except perhaps something of low value that I can arrange to collect in person and pay cash for.
 
tallpaul said:
Don’t get any but I deleted my profile from Facebook several years ago and never looked back…
Click to expand...

My use of Facebook has evolved considerably since I first joined many years ago. Nowadays I maintain my Facebook profile mostly to see photos from friends & family, to follow a few groups connected with my hobbies and a few joke pages. I very rarely post myself anymore. I'm told that nowadays Facebook is ignored by young people as "it's for old people". Like me.
 
Stopped using it, people just use it for nonsense.

If you are worried don't use the links being sent. Go into the app itself and change your password and other details.
 
Dave Vanian said:
Over time, I've also learned not to tick the box where a website offers to save your card details to make future purchases easier. The retailer themselves may well be 100% above board but I've no way of knowing how robust their data security is.
Click to expand...
In nearly all circumstances except for the giants like Amazon, its the payment gateway or in the case of Shopify, ShopPay that holds the details. The retailer themselves have no access. So if the retailer uses Global Payments / Realex, it is Global Payments/Realex that have the details.


As for facebook - phenomenal amount of spam recently especially on messages. eg from Guest5564, "Your account has been compromised, click here to ensure page is not closed" and several other versions. But seems to have cleared this week.
 
Yes, I've got them for years. Some absolute morons in the US put my email in as theirs, so I get about 1000 spam emails a week on top of this. Its relentless. But some are probably automated hacking attempts as well.

I was on the original invite only Google mail beta so I had a very good mail name, but in the long term get all kinds of thickos trying to use or abuse it. I did manage to get in touch with the dim witted Texas woman who was first to try to use my email address - when I politely suggested she stop trying to use my gmail moniker she tried to insist that "shoegirl" might compromise and just left her have the account - to which my reply was a metaphorical brick through the window. Ever since I either Texas woman put my email in her paypal - because of 2fa I wasn't able to shut this down so I just have to ignore those mails.
 
AlbacoreA said:
Stopped using it, people just use it for nonsense.

If you are worried don't use the links being sent. Go into the app itself and change your password and other details.
Click to expand...
Set up two factor access and a strong password, which you then change from time to time.
 
AndroidMan said:
I dont even use FB and I get these emails.
Click to expand...

Is the link in the emails directing you to facebook.com? If so they are genuine and there is a profile linked to your email address. If the link directs to somewhere else then it's just a plain old phishing attempt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register