Email domain reported as abusive; locked out of account

Facebook blocked me also... I also use Spamex. They need to let us provide them with an alternative email address, so we can log back into our FB account. I still can't believe they didn't warn us before they just locked out the spamex,xemaps.com domain. Please post a comment if anyone gets a response from FB.

Latest from Facebook:

Sorry for the confusion. For security reasons, we no longer allow emails with this email domain to be used to access the site. Please respond to this email from an alternate email address so that we can update your login information. Be sure to include all of our previous correspondence. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience.

Uh-huh, nice. The cynic in me wonders if this has less to do with Spamex being used abusively and more to do with FB wanting as much of our contact information as possible to do with as they please. Even if Spamex is being misused, why not take it up with those who run the service? Their policy certainly doesn't allow spammers.

Here's my response to FB:

Here's my address. Thanks for fixing this but, for the record, I don't understand why changing my e-mail address is necessary. Also, locking a non-abusive user out of their account for this reason without any explanation is pretty awful customer service. And yes, I know Facebook is free, but I still consider myself a customer since FB makes money on ad revenue.

Same deal here. Spamex e-mail. Locked-out without warning. Same "domain reported" message. Frustrating because I'm guessing that the average Spamex user is more aware of spam, abuse, etc than most - and is more likely to be an early adopter etc. Now I'm trying to figure out how I create a new e-mail address that will satisfy Facebook without exposing my address to the entire World.

Todd, please list the steps you went through and time it took to get a response from FB. I'm still waiting for a response... And all the while, my FB friends are still trying to collaborate with me on FB.

FB won't even respond to Spamex...

We are aware of the issue and have been trying to correspond with Facebook but they have been unresponsive. We will continue to try to get a response to them as to why our domains are 'abusive'. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Regards,
Spamex Support

I doubt I'll ever be able to log into FB again.

I had the same problem and reported it to facebook immediately. They ignored my frist two emails, but replied to a third, but COMPLETELY ignored the issue of the "abusive domain" and simply stated that they had re-set my password. And of course, the new password didn't work. After two more emails demanding action, they finally said that they no longer accept logins from spamex or xemaps, and instructed me to contact them from another email domain, and then they'd get things straightened out.

I set up a gmail account that i will only use for facebook, and replied back to them. It remains to be seen if this fixes the problem -- now waiting for them to enable the account under the new email address.

I hate facebook but use it to keep in touch with a few family members.

sigh
.
Shelley

I have a similar problem. I emailed them over a month ago with a 'friend search' problem. They did not reply until 2 days ago, at which time they did not respond to my question, although they included it in their email, and they locked my account, insisting that my username was not allowed. I sent them the information they asked for. They did not respond for 24 hours, leaving my account locked. Today they responded by acting as if I hadn't sent the fnformation they asked for, not unlocking my account, and wasting more of my time. I asked to speak to a supervisor. They have not responded.

Facebook finally reset my password after I gave them a non-Spamex e-mail address, but as Shelly/sh31mart experienced, they provided no acceptable explanation for requiring me to use another address. The process took 4 days from when I first contacted FB (I've just been slow to update this page).

It seems that what others have said on GS is true — FB has such a huge user base, they tend to resolve problems with broad strokes like blacklisting an e-mail domain that has been reported as abusive, rather than contacting those who manage the domain to address the problem. It's easier for them to shift the burden onto the users. It's not really in their interest to spend time corresponding with Spamex, as the percentage of FB users with Spamex addresses is likely quite low. If Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail were reported as abusive, they might react differently, but in this case it's easier to just blacklist the domain. I can understand that as a business decision, but FB could do a better job of communicating when such a decision has been made. Why not send out an e-mail explaining the issue, even briefly, and give affected users a few days to change their addresses?

I had the same problem. I signed up for spamex in March 2008 with a "spamex.com" address. I noticed I was locked out and got the cryptic message "This email domain has been reported as abusive by Facebook users" when I tried to reset my password.

I reported the problem to FB early Monday, 23 June 2008 and immediately got a canned reply.

I wrote them again on Saturday, 28 June 2008. On Monday, 30 June 2008, I received a reply from Marissa (info+dx26d62@facebook.com) in Facebook user operations telling me she had reset my password. I still could not login with the new password and wrote back asking them to test the new password themselves that they had just sent me and see if it worked for them.

On Thursday, 3 July 2008, I got a reply from Landon (info+dxc27cu@facebook.com) at FB User Operations. He wrote, "We can look into this, but for security reasons we need you to respond to this email from your login email address. Also, please write your email address in the subject line and include all of our previous correspondence so that we can refer to your original inquiry."

I complied.

On Wednesday, 9 July 2008, I got a reply from Taylor (info+nx0nvee@facebook.com) at FB User Operations, "For security reasons, we no longer allow emails with this email domain to be used to access the site. Please respond from an alternate email address so that we can update your login information. Be sure to include all of our previous correspondence. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience. Thanks for understanding,"

As requested, I sent a new e-mail address with the "xemaps.com" domain.

On Monday, 14 July 2008, I got a message from Sadie (info+dx0xzex@facebook.com) in FB User Operations saying, "I just changed your login email address as requested and reset your password."

This worked fine for at least the next few days. I thought I had just mistyped the password for awhile and did not use Facebook heavily, so did not realize that "xemaps.com" was blocked too until today. It looks like other "xemaps.com" users started noticing that they were blocked about 20 July 2008, less than one week after Facebook happily switched me to an "xemaps.com" address.

I just sent them another request for help tonight.

Very frustrating.

Bill Starr
Indiana
Sat, 16 Aug 2008, 8:27 pm EDT

Try setting up a gmail account. I had the same problem with a xemaps account, and ended up created a throwaway gmail account; facebook set that one up with a new password, and it has continued to work just fine. Big hassle, and it bugs the heck out of me that they've blocked spamex and xemaps addresses, but since they won't even discuss why they're doing so, a gmail account is an acceptable alternative. There's no way I'm actually going to give Facebook my real email address!

Shelley

I went through an identical process, except that it was a xemaps acct that was initially blocked. I eventually created a gmail account that i use just for facebook, and they re-enabled my account with that address. So far so good -- one would hope that they won't ever block gmail, given the large number of people who use it. And there's no way i'm ever going to give facebook my real email address!

Same issue here, my xemaps.com address is blocked.
I'm refusing to switch to another email address, and I'll bug Facebook until we're all red in the face.
"For security reasons, we no longer allow emails with this email domain to be used to access the site".
Is Facebook the new Department of Homeland Security?
Should I take my shoes off, too? What about my shampoo?

I have the same issue, except mine is from a UNIVERSITY-ISSUED e-mail domain (simla.colostate.edu).

Effectively, they locked out all liberal arts students from the past few years at a major university. WTF?

If you have other e-mail addresses associated with your account, you can still log-in using those.

This is ridiculous.

I just got this same problem from a simla.colostate.edu account. I hope they give a reason, but it looks like that's not going to happen.

I would just say "F*** you Facebook" but the main reason i have it is to talk to friends of mine who i otherwise couldn't talk to.

i and my colleage have had the same problem from our work emai address endemoluk.com domain - wtf? still no reply to help emails so far 4 days

After reporting the second lockout, with "xemaps.com", to Facebook on Sat, 16 Aug 2008, they replied to me on Wed, 20 Aug 2008, "For security reasons, we no longer allow emails with this email domain to be used to access the site. Please respond from an alternate email address so that we can update your login information."

I sent a new disposable address in the "gmail.com" domain to them on the same day. I set it up to forward to my real e-mail, so I don't need to check multiple e-mail accounts.

On Saturday, 23 Aug 2008, they sent me a message "I have updated your login email address as requested and reset your password".

So my Facebook access is restored once again -- 7 days after reporting the issue.

Bill Starr
Indiana
Sun, 24 Aug 2008, 7:54 am EDT

Same problem here but I am using a sbcglobal.net email address. I can access from work but not at home... Makes no sense...