From time to time I like to test the current state of customer support at Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc. to see if anything has changed from a security standpoint. Recently, I’ve deliberately handed over a page to my friend, removed myself, then reported it hacked to see if Facebook would comply. I did this to simulate a transaction, where the seller adds the buyer and then removes himself from the page. The page had less than 100 likes, so I didn’t even expect a response. These days, everyone claims that Facebook support is very unresponsive, so I believed that my submission would be omitted. However, I did receive a response, and it was quite surprising.
While this may be a standard, run of the mill response, it’s still on point and addressed all the issues in my report. Since I wasn’t indeed compromised, they did not and will not invervene, because:
If you were removed as a Page admin, you can try reaching out to the current Page admins directly about this issue. Facebook can’t provide any help with Page disputes like this. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this might cause you.
I find this quite surprising that they still don’t act on such reports. Unlike Instagram, where a sizable portion of hack reports get successfully resolved, Facebook doesn’t care that you’ve lost your page, and they will not act on any report unless they have proof on their end that your account was somehow accessed by someone else.
My conclusion is, Facebook fanpages are still one of the safest social properties you can purchase. In my seven years of doing this, we’ve only had 2-3 instances where a page was actually taken back, and till this day, we’re not sure how it happened. I am comparing those 2-3 instances to thousands of successful transactions, so the amount of risk is just a fraction of 1%. Now, this doesn’t mean they’re completely risk-free. Zero reach and page deletions are common, but like on any social platform, you have no warranty that your account will stay live. Since no one truly owns these properties (except the social giants), access may be taken away from you at any time, and for any given reason.