Over hiding spam comments? Try Facebook Moderation Assist

There is one thing you can always count on as a social media manager: the better your content performs, the more likely you are to face an onslaught of scam and spam comments.

These nuisances can pop up in your comments or even direct to your inbox. And they’re not just annoying to constantly hide, they can also post a real danger to your audience, especially if they’re not that savvy.

What risks do these comments pose?

According to a recent ACCC report, Australians lost $2.7 billion to scammers in 2023, with a significant rise in scams originating on social media. Comment bots aim to steal sensitive information, distribute malware, and promote fake offers, eroding user trust and damaging your page’s reputation.

For Facebook page owners, vigilance is crucial to maintain security and ensure a trustworthy experience for your audience. Preventing these scams protects your content and keeps your community safe.

Spotting a Scam Comment

If you’re new to the world of comment moderation or community management you may not yet be familiar with what to look out for, but there are a few red flags you will quickly learn to spot.

1. Too Good to Be True Offers: These comments make promises of amazing deals, free gifts, or large sums of money.
2. Suspicious Links: URLs leading to unfamiliar or dubious websites.
3. Poor Grammar and Spelling: Hastily written comments riddled with errors.
4. Generic Praise: Overly complimentary comments that lack specifics about your product or service.

Recently, I’ve seen an uptick of two types of spam comments in particular:

1. Ticket Bots: These often claim they accidentally bought double tickets, their partner said no, or they can’t attend anymore. They push for quick sales and ask you to DM them, where they will then send you onto a dodgy third party website.
2. Facebook Warning Bots: These bots impersonate Facebook, claiming your page will be shut down if you don’t click their dodgy link. They often use scare tactics, suggesting urgent action is needed to avoid account suspension. These messages typically include poor grammar and spelling, and direct you to suspicious URLs.

Legitimate warnings from Facebook usually arrive via notification or direct message, addressing you by name and providing detailed instructions or links to official Facebook help pages.

Setting up Moderation Assist

Rather than spending time hiding these obvious scams, there is a free tool within Facebook itself called Moderation Assist which can do it for you. This tool automatically filters and hides scam and spam comments. To activate it:

1. Access Professional Dashboard: While using Facebook as your business page, navigate to your professional dashboard and click on “Settings”.
2. Go to Moderation Assist: Select “Moderation Assist” located in the left hand panel under ‘Your Tools’
3. Add Keywords: Enter a comprehensive list of keywords and phrases typically linked with scams and spam.

Using Moderation Assist is crucial for maintaining security and ensuring a trustworthy experience for your audience.

You can have up to 1000 keywords blocked at any one time, so here are 50ish to get you started:

Free, Win, Congratulations, Click here, Limited time, Act now, Gift, Prize, Winner, Claim, Exclusive, Urgent, Offer, Deal, Discount, Risk-free, Scam, Spam, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Easy money, Fast cash, Work from home, Get rich, Lottery, Guaranteed, Your page has violated, Terms of service violation, Account suspension, Page suspension, Violated our terms, Violated community standards, Page removal notice, Account will be disabled, Immediate action required, Violation detected, Account flagged, Terms of use breach, Page under review, Facebook rules breach, Community guidelines violation, Policy violation, Account warning, Your page is at risk, Suspicious activity detected, Immediate response needed, Security alert, Page compromised, Urgent attention required, Account at risk, Policy breach, Action required immediately, Copyright breach

Regularly updating your keyword list is essential as scammers continually adapt their tactics. By setting up these measures, you’ll have a robust defence against unwelcome comments, allowing you to focus on engaging with your genuine audience.

Utilising Facebook’s Moderation Assist ensures your business page remains a welcoming and safe space for your community, free from disruptions caused by scammers and spammers.