Your Facebook account is in danger..if you ignore one email, you will be banned
If you received a mysterious email from Facebook with a subject line saying “Your account requires advanced security from Facebook Protect” a few weeks ago and ignored it, the platform is preparing to block you from your account.
The email was a real Facebook message designed to enhance security for specific accounts.
According to Facebook, the security scheme is designed to bolster protections for accounts likely to be targeted by malicious hackers, such as human rights defenders, journalists and government officials.
Facebook Protect is designed to monitor these accounts for hacking threats and enable two-factor authentication by default.
In the original email, Facebook set a deadline for users to enable Facebook Protect.
Those trying to log into their Facebook account are told, "We have taken this precaution to keep your account secure while you enable additional security features."
A number of Facebook users who missed the original deadline rushed to Twitter to complain about the ban.
It sure is frustrating to get banned from your account, but worse than that, it seems that the ways to enable Facebook Protect don't work for some users.
One prominent social media user tweeted: "My new Facebook protection, which I didn't ask for, keeps texting me with a matching two-factor code, which keeps not working. I'm now effectively blocked from accessing my account."
It appears that Facebook is aware of the issues with its new security system and is looking into a solution.
"We are looking at isolated instances where people may need help registering for the program," Meta's head of security policy confirmed in a tweet.
In the meantime, if you have an email in your inbox from security@facebookmail.com about Facebook Protect, you need to take action now, or risk having your account closed.
And there's a chance you won't miss your account deadline, so there might still be time to trigger the ban.
And if you're unfortunately banned, there's nothing you can do but wait while the Facebook team resolves ongoing issues with its new security system.
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