Facebook "blocked due to sending spam" and asking for credit card details

Philsopher · 07-08-2012 01:01PM #1

Ok, so I've tried to log on to Facebook a few times but all I get is a page coming up telling me that my account has been blocked due to sending spam and that I need to fill in the following fields in order to prove that I am not a spambot. It's asking me for my name, address, telephone number and credit card details etc.

That can't be right, can it? Surely FB would never ask for anything like that? If they are, I refuse to provide them - I would rather close my account. However, I don't know how I can do this without being able to access my profile.

In short, does anyone know if (a) this is all because of a virus or (b) is legit or (c) how do I re-gain access without providing any personal information?

deconduo · 07-08-2012 01:13PM

-Its definitely a scam.

-Don't put in your password or any personal details.

-Make sure that the URL you are trying to connect to is definitely www.facebook.com Check to see if its redirecting to something else.

Philsopher · 07-08-2012 01:19PM

Yeah, presumed it was a scam alright so did not and will not enter any personal information.

It's definitely FB alright - it lets me log on and I can see my home page for a split second before that message page pops up.

Any ideas how I can get rid of this?

fionny · 07-08-2012 01:23PM

Sounds like your DNS has been poisoned.

Try from a different connection and if you do get in successfully change your password straight away and any other sites you have the same email and password associated with, this is because you have already given them your password now.

You will want to run a FULL Virus Scan,
Run Malwarebytes FULL Scan
Then you will also want to check your DNS settings on your computer / modem,
Then flush the dns cache also.

Philsopher · 07-08-2012 01:29PM

fionny wrote: »

Sounds like your DNS has been poisoned.

Try from a different connection and if you do get in successfully change your password straight away and any other sites you have the same email and password associated with, this is because you have already given them your password now.

You will want to run a FULL Virus Scan,
Run Malwarebytes FULL Scan
Then you will also want to check your DNS settings on your computer / modem,
Then flush the dns cache also.

Ok, I have no idea what you are saying there as I know sfa about computers!! Basically, what I get you are saying is to log in from a different computer and change my password? I wouldn't know even where to begin with the rest of your suggestions though. Sorry!

RadioRetro · 07-08-2012 01:31PM

Seems to be a common scam, and system restore is the solution... https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=2319414

fionny · 07-08-2012 01:34PM

No worries,

First step go to someone elses computer (preferably on a different connection) and change your password on all relevant accounts. REGARDLESS of anything else this has to be done as you have given them your password by trying to log in.

IF for some reason Facebook still asks you to verify then it MIGHT be legit, but it shoudlnt really be asking for your credit card details....

You could then try the system restore as suggested.

I would then suggest downloading this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials or if you have your own Anti Virus software update and use that. You need to run a FULL scan.

After that is finished download and install: http://www.malwarebytes.org/ again do a FULL scan.

For the other steps you might tell us what version of windows you are running?

highlandseoghan · 07-08-2012 01:35PM

I just did a quick search for you and you are not alone. It seems to be a virus thats spreading around. I have the link below for you to look at but if you do a system restore it seems to sort out the issue or if you have Norton and do a full check that seems to delete the virus.

http://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=2319414

ScouseMouse · 07-08-2012 01:37PM

What he is trying to say is, a virus or malicious program is interfering with your computer when you try to go to facebook.

Do not use that computer for anything to do with banking or where you need a password. It appears you have a virus.

Philsopher · 07-08-2012 04:21PM

fionny wrote: »

No worries,

First step go to someone elses computer (preferably on a different connection) and change your password on all relevant accounts. REGARDLESS of anything else this has to be done as you have given them your password by trying to log in.

IF for some reason Facebook still asks you to verify then it MIGHT be legit, but it shoudlnt really be asking for your credit card details....

You could then try the system restore as suggested.

I would then suggest downloading this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials or if you have your own Anti Virus software update and use that. You need to run a FULL scan.

After that is finished download and install: http://www.malwarebytes.org/ again do a FULL scan.

For the other steps you might tell us what version of windows you are running?

Ok, so I changed the password and did a system restore which seems to have sorted the issue. I couldn't access those links you posted though. I am using Windows 7 with Panda Anti-virus.

superscouse wrote: »

What he is trying to say is, a virus or malicious program is interfering with your computer when you try to go to facebook.

Do not use that computer for anything to do with banking or where you need a password. It appears you have a virus.

As I mentioned above, the system restore seems to have fixed the problem - do I still have a virus or has it been removed? Sorry, but I really know fa about computers!

RoyalMarine · 07-08-2012 04:23PM

the restore function will revert your computer back to a state before it was infected.

but you need to have a rough idea where it came from to prevent it happening again.

ASJ112 · 07-08-2012 04:38PM

You should follow fionny's advice about running malwarebytes, its a good program to have installed on your PC anyway.

RUCKING FETARD · 07-08-2012 11:08PM

I read somewhere that if you use system restore to get rid of a virus you should then turn off system restore and run your anti virus just to be sure it ain't hiding in the allotted system restore space.

fionny · 08-08-2012 11:30AM

The virus could still be present on your computer, make sure Panda's definitions are fully up to date and then run a full scan on your computer.

If my links didnt work just google and download malwarebytes, fully update it and then run a full scan.

holyhead · 09-02-2013 05:16PM

What if you dont run system restore. Getting the same message as the topic poster. Any ideas?

yoyo · 09-02-2013 06:48PM

holyhead wrote: »

What if you dont run system restore. Getting the same message as the topic poster. Any ideas?

Run Malwarebytes Anti Malware to make sure you have no malware on your computer.

Nick

BloodBath · 10-02-2013 02:33AM

Why would you not run system restore?

It's one of the most useful features on windows.

It's saved my os a lot of times.

ED E · 10-02-2013 10:22AM

BloodBath wrote: »

Why would you not run system restore?

It's one of the most useful features on windows.

It's saved my os a lot of times.

Not the best method to take. Clever malware will prevent a real rollback or even inject itself into the process.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk. All the way.

BloodBath · 10-02-2013 11:24AM

Maybe not the best method to take but it's enough to sidetrack most viruses and malware and is useful for non virus related issues as well. An unstable system or memory issue could leave you with a corrupt os. System restore will fix this in most cases as well.

It's not a solution to everything but it's useful enough to leave it enabled. It's not like it takes much disk space.

I'd advise you to use avast when you regain control of your system. It's by far the best free AV I've ever used. The likes of AVG is useless. Even paid AV's like Norton are useless compared to it.

ED E · 10-02-2013 11:26AM

Oh I agree there. And Shadow copy. Shadow copy has saved my ass on many an occasion.

holyhead · 14-02-2013 12:44AM

Thanks for the replies guys. I managed to kill the trojan using a combination of anti malware, rogue killer and yorkyt (a panda security program). Luckily enough I have a desktop and was able to download updated anti virus onto a usb and plug it into my laptop. The virus was preventing the laptop from even searching google for solutions.
My reluctance to use sys restore is that it takes up a sizeable chunk of memory. I have also, on an unrelated point, discovered that real player takes up a sizeable chunk of my cpu capacity hence I removed it.

BloodBath · 14-02-2013 12:17PM

System restore doesn't use that much space to be honest. The likes of virtual memory and hibernation mode uses far more for features that aren't needed on most machines. You can save 15gb of space on those 2 alone. For small ssd's this is huge.

Anywho I'd recommend using Avast AV to keep them away. It's by far the best free Anti Virus out there.

Facebook "blocked due to sending spam" and asking for credit card details

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