For the past three months, Meta, parent company to Facebook and Instagram, has faced increasing scrutiny. A growing controversy is hurting commercial accounts on all of its platforms. Hundreds of small businesses have complained of being banned from their accounts, with thousands of complaints alleging trouble getting back in. The tide of new cases just keeps increasing. Besides some vague figures, Meta hasn’t released anything concrete, which has caused critics to accuse the company of being under the current’s weight.
One major implementation concern stands out amid these reports – namely, that Meta’s customer support agents are overwhelmed by the massive wave of requests from businesses looking to receive support. Most commercial real estate agents are perplexed by the current state of affairs. Many have even been targeted for impersonation by scammers. Don’t be fooled. Scammers are pulling more sophisticated online scams to defraud unsuspecting businesses. They create fraudulent messages and emails designed to mimic communications from Meta, often requesting sensitive personal information and passwords.
More recently, alarm bells have sounded over the security of Meta’s customer support system. Businesses continue to tell us that they are receiving unsolicited messages from alleged support agents who then send them to fake Meta websites. These sites usually request your information because they claim they want to verify your account. These practices have all played a role in creating an environment where users feel distrustful.
Jonas Borchgrevink, a business owner affected by these issues, commented on the situation, stating, “There are probably thousands every day that are losing their business pages.” He noted the lack of effective change in Meta’s security measures, saying, “It has implemented different security measures over the years and yet we still receive the same amount of clients, so I don’t think there’s been a lot of change there.”
The impact of these account lockouts can be devastating. Catherine Deane, another business owner impacted by the situation, described her experience: “It felt like the rug had been pulled from under us. Instagram is our primary social platform, and we’ve invested the most amount of time and business resources into it.” She shared her exasperation with the response time from Meta, mentioning that solutions can take up to 3-4 months. “Finally, I think they just needed to get us off their backs and they reinstated the account,” she recalled.
Meta has been accused of taking too long to resolve these issues and not doing enough to help businesses regain access to their Facebook and Instagram pages. Proponents contend that this lengthy process ties the hands of businesses, putting them at risk of losing invaluable connections to customers.
Meta generally does not want you to get hacked. Encouraging strong password practices and requiring two-factor authentication are added protections. The breach should remind users to always avoid unsolicited requests for sensitive information, the company added. “We take the safety and security of our community seriously and encourage everyone to create a strong password, enable two-factor authentication and to be suspicious of emails or messages asking for personal details,” the statement read.
Despite these reassurances, many users remain skeptical. David Davila, a digital marketing expert, highlighted the tactics employed by scammers: “They pretend to be Meta Support and send the business an email saying that they have infringed some kind of copyright or broken terms and conditions in some way, and that they need to verify themselves.” He illustrated how these scams can have a devastating impact on victims’ businesses. Your personal account will automatically be made an administrator for your business account, as well. The scammers will then enter your business account and shift the admin privileges over to theirs or to fake accounts.
The size and scope of these problems have led to skepticism regarding Meta’s infrastructure and the support they can provide. Business owners looking for assistance are often left to wander through a complicated obstacle course without any clear direction or support.