Facebook message about payments: Is this notification about payments a scam?

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Users of the social media giant Facebook have in in the last few days shared concerns about an odd new message. This strange notification states: “You have a new message from Facebook about your payments.”

And after clicking on this notification, users are directed to Support Inbox.

Stranger still, this mystery Facebook inbox contains no messages at all.

The experience was so unsettling for some that a Reddit thread was set-up to discuss the issue, which was quickly deluged with hundreds of other Facebook users who have had the same unsettling experience.

One user wrote: “I’ve never purchased anything on Facebook so I am very confused.”

Another’s experience was exactly the same, with the user writing: “I have never bought anything or sent money, stored payment methods or anything of that nature.

“It’s weird though because it takes me to some ‘support inbox’ and it just says nothing to show.”

And a third user’s experience echoed the others’, with them commenting: “I have no payment details stored on Facebook, so I assume it’s a fishing scam.

A Facebook spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “Due to an error with our notifications, some people using Facebook may have received this message by mistake.

“We’re looking into the issue and apologise for any inconvenience.” 

What is a phishing scam?

Phishing is when criminals attempt to access to users’ Facebook accounts by sending suspicious messages or links requesting personal information.

Should they achieve their aims and access an account, they will likely use this to send spam.

The Facebook Help Centre provide the following example: “Joey gets an email saying he needs to log into his Facebook account and read an important message about his account.

“The email links to a strange looking website asking him to enter his username and password.”

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What to do if you suspect you have been phished:

Should a user accidentally enter username and/or password into a suspicious link, someone else might be able to illegally access their account.

However, Facebook have provided some helpful advice for what you can do in this situation.

If you can log in to your account, learn how to secure your account by resetting your password and logging out of any devices you do not own.

If you cannot access your account and your username and/or password do not work, you learn how to recover your account.

If you want to see if anything strange has been happening to your account, learn how to review recent activity and check recent emails sent by Facebook.

And Facebook users are always encouraged to report strange emails to [email protected].

Top tips for avoiding getting phished:

Never trust messages demanding money, offering gifts or threatening to delete or ban your Facebook account.

Emails from Facebook about your account always come from fb.com, facebook.com or facebookmail.com.

Should you receive a suspicious email or message claiming to be from Facebook, never click any links or attachments.

Never answer messages asking for your password, social security number, or credit card information.

And it can always help receiving alerts about unrecognised logins, while activating two-factor authentication can also boost your account security.

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