Facebook Scams: Hacked Friends, Fake Giveaways and Fake Shops

The most common Facebook scams are messages from friends whose accounts have been hacked, fake giveaways and prize posts, fake pages posing as brands or Meta itself, Messenger requests for codes or money, and ads for online shops that take your money and send nothing, or something worthless. The quickest defense is to check any unusual request with the person or company through a channel you already trust, and never share a login code. If you’ve paid, contact your bank or card issuer straight away and report the scam to Facebook and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Facebook scams work because they borrow trust: a friend’s name, a brand’s logo, a page with a big following. Being taken in is not a failure of intelligence. This guide is an overview of the main types, with links to our more detailed guides where a scam deserves its own page.

The main types of Facebook scams

Messages from a hacked friend

A friend messages you out of the blue: “Is this you in this video?” with a link, or “I’m stuck abroad and my cards were blocked”, or an enthusiastic story about a grant, loan or crypto investment that changed their life. Their account has usually been taken over, and the scammer is working through their friends list.

The link may lead to a fake Facebook login page that steals your password, which is how the scam spreads to your friends next. A request for money or for a code sent to your phone (“I need to log in, can you send me the code you just got?”) is the scammer trying to take over your account too. Call or text your friend through another channel before you do anything. If your own account has been taken over, follow our guide to a hacked Facebook account, and see Messenger hacked if it’s the chats that are affected.

Fake giveaways and prizes

A post says a brand, airline or supermarket is giving away gift cards, cars, vacation packages or boxes of “unclaimed” parcels. To enter, you like, share, comment and click a link to “claim”. Some are simply there to collect likes and shares so the page can be renamed and sold, or used for later scams. Others lead to forms that take your personal details or card number for a small “shipping fee”, which can turn into repeated charges.

A real company runs giveaways on its own verified page, with clear rules, and doesn’t ask winners to pay. Our guides to sweepstakes scams and lottery scams explain the wider pattern.

Fake pages, including fake Meta support

Scammers create pages copying real brands, celebrities, charities and local businesses, sometimes with a similar name and the real logo. A particularly common version targets page owners: a message or comment from “Meta Support” or “Page Policy Team” saying your page has violated rules and will be disabled unless you appeal through a link. The link leads to a phishing page that asks for your login, your two-factor code or your ID.

Meta sends genuine account and page notices through Facebook’s own notifications and support areas, which you can check from your settings rather than a link in a message. If you run a business page, our guide to a hacked business page covers what to do if you’ve already lost access.

Messenger scams

Beyond hacked friends, Messenger is used for “wrong number” chats that turn into friendships and investment pitches, romance scams that move to money requests, fake job offers, and fake customer support for banks or airlines. Some people receive messages telling them they’ve won a prize they never entered. Anyone who contacts you first and ends up asking for money, gift cards, crypto or a code is a scam. Our guides to romance scams and job scams go deeper.

Ads for fake shops

You see an ad for a brand-name item at a huge discount, a “closing down sale” from a small boutique, or a product that looks wonderful in a video. The website looks professional, the checkout works, and then either nothing arrives or you receive a cheap item that bears little resemblance to the ad. Returns go to an address overseas, or emails stop being answered.

Warning signs include a newly registered website, prices that are too good, no real contact details, and a Facebook page with few posts but many ads. Before buying, search the shop’s name with words like “scam” or “reviews”, and read our guide on how to check if a website is legit. Pay by credit card if you do buy, because card payments usually have the strongest dispute rights.

Marketplace and group scams

Buying and selling on Marketplace and in local groups has its own set of tricks, from fake buyers who want you to share a verification code to rental listings for homes that don’t exist. Our guide to Facebook Marketplace scams covers those in detail, and rental scams covers fake listings.

Warning signs of a Facebook scam

• A friend’s message sounds unlike them, or pushes a link, an investment or an urgent money request.
• Anyone asks for a code sent to your phone or email.
• A giveaway asks you to share, click a link and pay a small fee to claim.
• “Meta” contacts you through Messenger, a comment or a page, warning your account will be disabled.
• A page is new, has recently changed its name, or has few genuine posts but lots of ads.
• A shop offers big brands at prices that seem impossible.
• You’re asked to pay by gift card, crypto, wire transfer or a friends-and-family payment.
• You’re pressured to act immediately or keep it secret.

You can check a page’s history in its “Page transparency” information, which typically shows when it was created and whether it has changed its name. A page selling luxury goods that was a meme page last month is a red flag.

What to do right now

1. Stop contact. Don’t reply, click, pay or send any codes. If it’s a friend, reach them another way to check.
2. If you paid, call your bank or card issuer. Use the number on your card or statement and report the payment as fraud. For fake shops, ask about a chargeback.
3. If you entered your password or a code, secure your account. Change your Facebook and email passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, and review where you’re logged in from Facebook’s security settings.
4. Save the evidence. Screenshot the profile or page, the ad, the messages, the website address and your payment confirmation.
5. Report it on Facebook. Report the profile, page, post, ad or message using the menu next to it. Our guide on how to report a Facebook account covers the options, including reporting impersonation.
6. Warn your friends if your account was used. A short post or message stops the scam spreading.

Where to report a Facebook scam

• Facebook: the report option on the profile, page, post, ad or message.
• ReportFraud.ftc.gov: the FTC’s site for any scam, including fake shops.
• The FBI’s IC3 (ic3.gov): for online scams where money was sent, especially investment and romance scams.
• IdentityTheft.gov: if you gave a scammer your Social Security number, ID or bank details.
• The brand being impersonated: through its official website, so it can warn customers and report the fake page.
• Your state attorney general: for fake online shops and other consumer complaints.

Our hub on how to report a scammer lists every route, including options in other countries.

Can you get your money back?

How you paid decides most of this. Credit and debit card payments to a fake shop can often be disputed through your card issuer, especially if you report quickly and can show the goods never arrived or weren’t as described. Bank transfers may be recallable if caught early. Gift cards, crypto, wire transfers and payment-app transfers to a stranger are often hard or impossible to reverse.

Facebook can remove scam accounts and ads, but it usually can’t return your money. And if someone contacts you afterward offering to recover your losses for a fee, treat it as a second scam; see our guide to recovery scams.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. A dental hygienist in Oregon sees an ad in her feed for a well-known brand of outdoor jacket at a steep discount, from a page calling itself a warehouse clearance outlet. She orders two.

1. After three weeks, a small package arrives with two thin jackets that look nothing like the ad. The return address is overseas and emails go unanswered.
2. She checks the page’s transparency information: created recently, with a name change a month earlier.
3. She screenshots the ad, the page, the website and her order confirmation, and photographs what arrived.
4. She calls her card issuer and opens a dispute for goods not as described, then reports the ad on Facebook and files a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Paying by card gave her a route to dispute the charge, which a gift card or payment-app transfer would not have. She now checks a page’s history before buying from any ad.

How to protect yourself on Facebook

• Turn on two-factor authentication. An authenticator app is safer than text messages.
• Tighten your privacy settings. Limit who can see your friends list, posts and contact details, which makes you a harder target. Our guide to Facebook privacy settings walks through the options.
• Verify unusual messages from friends. A quick call or text through another app is enough.
• Check pages before buying or entering giveaways. Look at page transparency, the post history and independent reviews.
• Go to Meta directly for account problems. Use the settings and help areas inside Facebook, not links in messages.
• Pay with a credit card for online shopping. It usually offers the strongest protection if something goes wrong.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Clicking “Is this you?” links. They’re almost always phishing.
• Sharing giveaways to “help a friend win”. It spreads the scam to your friends.
• Appealing a “violation” through a Messenger link. Check your account status inside Facebook instead.
• Trusting likes and comments. They can be bought, and pages can be renamed.
• Posting a scammer’s photo with accusations. The account may use a stolen identity. Report it instead.

When scammers use your name or business

Scammers regularly clone real people’s profiles to message their friends, and copy small business pages to run fake giveaways or sell goods that never arrive. If that’s happening to you, report the copies as impersonation, warn your real audience, and read our guide on what to do if someone is impersonating you online. If fake pages or scam complaints are affecting how your business appears online, our social media reputation management team can help you assess the situation.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if a Facebook friend's message is a scam?

Be suspicious if it includes a link, an urgent money request, an investment tip or a request for a code. Contact your friend another way, such as a phone call or text, before you reply or click anything.

Are Facebook giveaways real?

Some are, but many aren’t. Real giveaways usually run on a brand’s verified page with published rules and never ask winners to pay a fee or enter card details. Posts that ask you to share, click a link and pay shipping to claim a prize are usually scams.

Will Meta message me about my account being disabled?

Genuine notices appear in Facebook’s own notifications and support areas. Messages, comments or pages claiming to be Meta and asking you to appeal through a link are phishing. Check your account status from your settings instead.

Can I get a refund from a fake Facebook shop?

If you paid by credit or debit card, contact your card issuer and ask about a dispute or chargeback. Keep screenshots of the ad and your order. Report the ad on Facebook and to the FTC as well.