The page looks quite genuine, and if you open the email attached to your account, you will also find a similar notification. LOOK AT THE SENDERS EMAIL ADDRESS!
(Note: Facebook do send some account information to emails if your settings allow it. I first became aware that I couldn't access my account when I tried to log in - I very rarely open my email so the block on my facebook account wasn't linked to my opening an email - it seems to be automatically taken down whether you open your email or not.)
There is a hyperlink explaining what types of ID are required for name verification, and the page, again, looks to be a genuine Facebook help page.
Opening the link to explain what types of ID are acceptable, the list will show you the types of 'government ID' that Facebook require to verify your identity.
Passport; Voter ID Card; Drivers Licence; Birth Certificate; Marriage Certificate; Official Name Change Paperwork; Tribal Identification or Status Card; Personal or Vehicle Insurance Card; Green Card, Residence Permit or Immigration Papers; Non-Drivers Government ID (eg disability, SNAP card, National ID)
Once you feel you know what documentation to send, you simply scan your ID, and return to the original log in message where you are directed to a page that will ask you to confirm your name and gives you an upload feature to send your now scanned documentation.
A little under a year ago, I had the notification page, asking me to send ID. I was suspicious that a social network would ask me to send documents that even my bank would not ask me to send online.
I google searched to see if this was a scam and found very little information, in fact, all I found were other people asking the same questions; "Is this a Scam/Hack" but nobody seemed to know.
Facebook are notorious for being unavailable to their users, with the 'Help' feature usually listing generic and non-specific information, and a user forum for any other issue; a place where users can all scratch their heads together with precious little in the way of any real solutions.
I refused to send in my official documentation and despite several emails, begging for my profile to be reinstated, it was never returned. I lost ten years of social networking interaction, thousands of photographs and memories, as well as hundreds of friends - some of whom now had 'memorial pages' as they had passe away. All the old messages from these friends had been lost too ... it felt like an electronic burglary and personal violation all rolled into one So I opened another account.
It took me a long time to re-add all my family, friends and networked friends, but after a few months, I began to feel comfortable in my new 'electronic skin'. But once bitten, twice shy.
I refused to add details of where I lived, use my full name (deliberately omitting my surname and using my Christian name and Middle name only), and I tweaked my privacy settings to exclude all but those I knew. Unfortunately, if friends post something set to 'public' any comment or 'like' on my behalf is then announced to the world via the terrible 'ticker' feed. All comments and 'likes' on public pages are similarly available to the general public
And then it happened again.
I logged in, only to find the very same "Please change your name" page.
It had taken me a long time to get some sort of normality back to my Facebook account, not to mention re-adding friends who don't log in so often, and I had seen that other friends had been asked for information; provided it; and had got their accounts back.
I thought that perhaps I had been overly suspicious on my first account, and so I decided that maybe Facebook needed ID after all, in order to prevent online activity that has recently seen many people arrested or jailed.
So I scanned and sent my ID.
24 hours later. No account reinstated.
I panicked. "What a fool - I should have trusted my instincts!" Knowing that official documentation can be used in serious fraud and crime, I contacted my local police station.
I felt such a fool as it was ONLY a Facebook account ... but the fact is, it is OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION.
The police treated the report quite seriously, and advised me to contact ACTION FRAUD
After viewing the online reporting system, I felt that my details weren't covered, so I called the helpline listed on the page, and was connected to a Police Officer who was so helpful. I explained to her what had happened, and she took all the details of my documentation and the methods by which I had been contacted.
When I read out the EMAIL ADDRESS I had received, asking for documentation, she did not hesitate to say;
"THIS IS AN IDENTITY THEFT SCAM"
She informed me that HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of Facebook users had been hit with this same scam, and had sent in official documentation.
Hundreds of Thousands of opportunities to access credit, and other official identity documents IN YOUR NAME.
THIS IS SERIOUS FRAUD
She then allocated me with a NATIONAL FRAUD INTELLIGENCE BUREAU 16 digit and letter reference number, a password and a contact number to inform them of any activity in my name that had been carried out without my knowledge. She advised me to apply for a CREDIT REPORT so that I could monitor any activity regarding attempts to get credit, in my name. She recommended the following companies;
EXPERIAN
EQUIFAX
NODDLE
CALLCREDIT also offer "Fraud Protection Checks & Customer Verification Services"
IF YOU RECEIVE ANY NOTIFICATIONS THAT APPEAR TO BE FROM FACEBOOK ASKING FOR OFFICIAL IDENTITY DOCUMENTATION - DO NOT REPLY!!! CONTACT ACTION FRAUD IMMEDIATELY.
Please circulate far and wide to help put an end to online Identity Theft!
No comments:
Post a Comment