AIBU?
Urgent - is this a scam?
FollowYourOwnNorthStar · 06/10/2022 12:00
I have received an email from Facebook saying there was an unsuccessful login on my account, and if I am having trouble logging in, click the link below and they will help me. And if it wasn’t me, click another link to let them know.
The message is from [email protected] which a google check seems to show is legitimate. The email is also pretty good - uses my name, logo looks correct, no speeding error, has the stuff at the bottom etc.
My issue is that I closed my Facebook account in approx 2008. I recall at the time going through and individually deleting all contacts and being asked if I wanted to “save it” in case I wanted to come back (I can’t recall the wording), and I pushed the “no delete all my stuff, every little bit” button.
Obviously, I’m not naive and with all the info that has gone out, I realise that even since the deletion, they probably kept all my data and also have been building a little file from any other connections and cookies or whatever else.
My 2 worries are:
- the email came at 2:57am. I couldn’t sleep
last night and was mindlessly on my iPad. I could have clicked on something that required a Facebook link to open, and when realized it, immediately exited out of there. However I’ve never been sent an email like this is the past, and I’m sure I would have made a similar mistake at some point in the last 15 years! Is this an issue? is someone using my account? And why would Facebook even have an account for me, when I closed it down back then?
Any knowledge or assistance would be gratefully received. I don’t want to try and login into Facebook if I can possibly avoid it.
Am I being unreasonable?
AIBUYou have one vote. All votes are anonymous.
PeekabooAtTheZoo · 06/10/2022 12:02
Facebookmail.com isn’t a domain of Facebook. Facebook.com is the domain of facebook. Idk what you checked on google but I’d imagine its telling you this domain name is in use by someone, not that it legitimately brlongs to Facebook.
FollowYourOwnNorthStar · 06/10/2022 12:10
Here is an article saying the email address is legitimate
finance.yahoo.com/news/facebook-protect-email-may-look-233200934.html
mynameiscalypso · 06/10/2022 12:15
Just because the email looks legit, doesn't mean it is. The email address could be spoofed very easily.
Wonderlandddd · 06/10/2022 12:18
Erm I’d say given the account hasn’t existed in 14 years you are safe to assume no one is logging into it
Namesahchanging · 06/10/2022 12:20
I deleted my fb about 2010 ish and I have started getting these emails, just ignore x
fairgame84 · 06/10/2022 12:23
It's a scam, I got one thd other day saying some random person had tried to access my account.
It looked legit, I can see how people fall for it.
shepherdlincoln · 06/10/2022 12:25
Definitely sounds like spam, don't click on anything just ignore it and delete
imnottoofussed · 06/10/2022 12:26
What I would says is "it doesn't matter" whether it's a scam or not you don't need to do anything. I ignore everything like this. If it was genuine then next time I try to log in to Facebook it might tell me there's an issue and get me to do something. As you don't have or use Facebook then it means nothing and you don't need to worry about it or do anything.
Now if it said you've changed your password or something like that then I might try to go to Facebook directly on a browser and not using any links in emails or messages. To see what was going on.
KrisAkabusi · 06/10/2022 13:26
Even if it is a scam, so what? You deleted your account years ago. I don't understand why you are giving this any thought at all.
AllTheWatersTurnedToClouds · 06/10/2022 13:29
Never, ever click a link in a random text.
if you want to check out accounts or logins, go directly to the websites yourself or call the company, depending on who it claims to be from.
SlipperyLizard · 06/10/2022 13:35
That email address is legitimate (I have had emails from it that I know are genuine, e.g. one yesterday to let me know I had been removed as admin from a FB account that I was expecting to be removed as admin from). However, if you hover over it, does it still show that email address?
As others have said, if your account has been deleted then you don't really need to do anything - it may just be someone with a similar name trying to get into your old account by mistake.
andymary · 06/10/2022 13:52
When "closing" your Facebook account, sometimes it defaults to only "Deactivate" it - which is a non-permanent deletion measure, that allows you to reactivate it 1/5/10 years later.
If it's only Deactivated, then bots/spammers can still try to attempt to log in to it, which is just the way the internet world is these days. As long as you had a strong password to begin with, I would just ignore the email.
If you definitely did Delete your account, and not just Deactivate it, then yeh, again, just ignore it, as there's no account for them to even log in to!
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