MailGuard has intercepted a new wave of phishing emails impersonating Meta, targeting businesses with alarming messages about policy violations and deceptive content. This campaign is highly manipulative in its social engineering tactics and designed to capture a wide spectrum of sensitive user information, from login credentials to identity documents. Notably, the campaign appears to be curated for an Australian audience, using language like 'G'day' and 'mate'.
A sophisticated data-harvesting attack using a deceptively simple lure
This latest scam is a classic example of how cybercriminals use authority-driven impersonation to elicit immediate action from users. The emails present as urgent notices from entities such as:
- Meta Business Support
- Meta Policy Compliance Team
- Community Standards Violation Notice
- Automated System Manipulation Violation
- Policy Warning: Harmful Content Affecting Users
They use emotionally charged subject lines referencing copyright issues, policy breaches, or hate-based content violations. While the display names appear legitimate at first glance, the emails originate from a suspicious domain, (at)thoimmo(dot)com, with randomly generated addresses.
What happens if a user clicks the link?
Victims are directed to a phishing site that mimics Meta’s interface. This isn’t just a simple login capture form, it’s a multi-stage attack funnel aimed at harvesting progressively deeper layers of personal and business-related information.
Here's what the email looks like 👇
What happens when you click "Lodge a complaint now"?
Clicking the button takes the victim to a spoofed Meta Ads landing page hosted on a fake domain that closely mimics Meta’s real business support layout and branding.
How to keep your account secure
Fanpage restricted
The user is advised that their fanpage has been reported as in violation of Meta's terms of service, and asked to verify themselves with their Facebook name, birthday, and mobile phone number.
Facebook Password Prompt
Next, the user is asked to verify their Meta password.
MFA prompt
Users are asked to 'choose a way to confirm its you', and told that their account has two-factor authentication switched on and to enter their login code.
Photo of official ID
To help check the account belongs to you, users are asked to provide a photo of their official ID.
Thank you
On the final screen the user receives a thank you for submitting their information, before returning to an official Meta webpage to avoid detection.
Why is this scam dangerous?
This attack is particularly harmful for businesses because it captures credentials that can be used to:
- Hijack Meta business accounts, ads, and financial data
- Launch further impersonation attacks or spear-phishing
- Commit identity theft using harvested documents
- Circumvent multi-factor authentication (MFA) protections
Stay Safe - Know the Signs
MailGuard advises all recipients of these emails to delete them immediately without clicking on any links. Responding or providing personal details can lead to identity theft, data breaches, and financial losses.
What to look for:
- Emails that claim you’ve violated community standards or ad policies
- Messages from unknown domains, especially (at)thoimmo(dot)com
- Landing pages that closely mimic Meta’s interface but request non-standard information.
MailGuard advises users to avoid emails that:
- Aren’t addressed to you personally.
- Are unexpected and urge immediate action.
- Contain poor grammar or miss crucial identifying details.
- Direct you to a suspicious URL that isn’t associated with the genuine company.
Many businesses turn to MailGuard after a near miss or incident. Don't wait until it's too late. Reach out to our team for a confidential discussion by emailing expert@mailguard.com.au or calling 1300 30 44 30.
One Email Is All That It Takes
All that it takes to devastate your business is a cleverly worded email message that can steal sensitive user credentials or disrupt your business operations. If scammers can trick one person in your company into clicking on a malicious link or attachment, they can gain access to your data or inflict damage on your business.
For a few dollars per staff member per month, you can protect your business with MailGuard's specialist, 'zero zero-day' email security. Special Ops for when speed matters! Our real-time 'zero zero-day', email threat detection amplifies our client’s intelligence, knowledge, security and defence. Talk to a solution consultant at MailGuard today about securing your company's inboxes.
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