'Your Account Violated Our Policy' Suspension Phish
A message claims your Facebook/Instagram account or page violated policy and will be disabled unless you 'appeal' now — the appeal link steals your login and 2FA.
Think a message like this reached you? You can check it right now.
What this scam is
You get an email or DM (sometimes via a comment tagging you) warning that your account or business page broke community standards or copyright and will be disabled within 24 hours unless you 'appeal' or 'verify.' The link leads to a fake Meta login that captures your password and two-factor code, letting the scammer take over your account or page — valuable for running ads scams or extorting you to get it back. Real policy actions are handled inside the app's official notifications and settings.
What it usually looks like
- A 'policy violation / page will be disabled' warning.
- An 'appeal' or 'verify' link with a countdown.
- A fake Meta/Facebook login page.
- A prompt for your 2FA code.
Common warning signs
- Appeal links to non-Meta sites.
- Urgency about your account being disabled.
- Requests for password and 2FA on one page.
- Messages via comments/DMs from odd accounts.
Example wording scammers use
“Your page violated our Community Standards and will be removed in 24 hours. Appeal here to keep it active: meta-appeal-center.net”
“Copyright violation detected — verify your account now to avoid suspension.”
These are illustrative examples written by ScamSplain, not real messages.
What the scammers want
- Your account/page login and 2FA code.
- To take over accounts (especially business pages).
- To run scams or extort you.
What to do
- Check policy status only in the app's official Support/Account Status.
- Don't click 'appeal' links or enter credentials from them.
- Turn on app-based two-factor and review login activity.
- Report the phishing message.
What to do if you already responded
- Change your password, revoke sessions, and check for added admins on your page.
- Use Meta's official account-recovery if locked out.
- Report at reportfraud.ftc.gov.