CINCINNATI — Many of us depend on our Facebook page to share our everyday lives with friends and to keep up with others.
If so, you would probably be alarmed by a message that says your page will be shut down if you don't verify your identity.
The message claims you've violated Facebook's terms, and says if you do not respond in 24 or 48 hours "your page will be suspended."
If you click the link to respond, you will be asked to verify your name, email, and password.
Warning before you give out any information
Sylvia Phillips was recently hit by a Facebook scam — that got into her phone — and wants to warn others to never believe anything that asks for personal info.
"Be extremely careful," she said. "Question everything, and don't give out data where you are not aware what you are giving out."
The Better Business Bureau recently issued an alert about this scam, calling it the "verification scam" or the "re-verification scam."
So what's the worst that can happen if you fill out the form, before realizing it is a con?
The Better Business Bureau warns that your Facebook page will likely be hacked, since the scammers now have your name and login credentials.
And that can lead to all sorts of problems.
That's what happened to two women we spoke with, Bev and Jennifer, a couple of years ago (they requested we not use their last names).
Their Facebook pages started spamming all their friends, offering free government money, among other things.
"That wasn't me," Bev said. "I didn't send those messages."
But their Facebook pages had been hacked, and for several harrowing weeks, they had no control over what was posted from their accounts.
What you should never do
Never re-enter your Facebook login to a request, even if it seems the site is threatening to close your account.
This applies to all suspicious alerts or emails from Facebook, Instagram, your bank, or any company you do business with.
Make sure you know who you are dealing with, so you don't waste your money.
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