On Facebook, we tend to see a lot of fake profiles or scammers and while reporting them might seem like the right thing to do, it could be getting some locked out of their accounts. The hashtag #facebooklockout is gaining attention as many note being locked out of their accounts for as noted above.
One of the most prominent faces behind this hashtag is Cory Comer who only recently was able to access his account once again. He had reported several accounts for impersonating other users and was for some reason locked out of his. After trying many times to upload photographic identification to get access back, he was seemingly out of luck for at least a week.
2/ The #FacebookLockout affects #facebook, @FBBusiness, @Instagram Ads, and 3rd party Facebook Authentication. All manner of login pages are automatically redirected to single verification page with a photo upload requirement.
— Cory Comer (@corywcomer) October 14, 2019
This whole uproar has been especially damaging to those who run businesses that revolve around the social media platform itself. Being locked out of their accounts means they are unable to access the work that they need to do. Cory Comer, for example, is a director of marketing at the company RateLinx and no one other than him through that profile was able to access their page.
@facebook your photo ID verification isn’t working and I’m locked out of my account! Help! I have company pages to manage.
— Cory Comer (@corywcomer) October 9, 2019
Mashable recently reported on this topic and since many more people have come forward in regards. A woman named Kara Missione actually told Mashable in an email that her account has been locked for 23 days already and of course, that number is growing. Because she runs a large part of her business through Facebook, she continued to say that “financially and emotionally it’s been a hit.”
It should also be mentioned that attempts made to reach Facebook official s through contact forms and other means have gone seemingly unanswered as Mashable noted. Regardless of the means, these people have tried to resolve any issues and get their accounts back, things have been quite bleak. Facebook authentication is very important for other applications as well which makes this a much bigger issue than many realize.
My contact at FB says they disabled the code responsible for these false takedowns and are now investigating how and why this code got pushed.
— Artem Russakovskii (@ArtemR) September 24, 2019
PSA: don’t report fake accounts on @Facebook. They will lock your account, and their ID verification system doesn’t work.
I reported a scam account masquerading as a friend, and within 2 hours I was locked out. 24 hours now…#FacebookLockout
Please RT— Martin Settle (@elttesitram) October 13, 2019
While this issue has been happening for a good few weeks now, it is not going to end anytime soon or at least that is how things appear. Cory Comer as mentioned above is currently warning people to not report scammers/impersonators as this kind of issue is quite prominent at the moment and unless you’re willing to risk your account you should just block and ignore the messages/requests you get from fake accounts. While some accounts are finally being released, not all of them are back just yet.
Lessons from #FacebookLockout:
🚫 Do NOT report scammers/impersonators.
💢 @facebook’s support is non-existent.
🔊 Make LOTS of noise on @Twitter to get released.
✅ DO assign 2 admins to @FBBusiness accounts at all times. #marketing #socialmedia
— Cory Comer (@corywcomer) October 15, 2019
What do you think about all of this? Clearly, there are some changes that need to be made on Facebook’s end. If you’ve experienced something like this perhaps it is the result of something you thought would benefit everyone.