We reported last week how Facebook went into stealth mode and replaced default user email addresses with an ‘@facebook.com’ one. Basically, what this means is that if you had your Gmail address shown in your “Contact Info,” Facebook removed it and set yourfacebookname@facebook.com as the default. (Click here to learn how to change it back.)

There was a huge uproar among users, privacy advocates and in the blogosphere, even EPIC is calling on the FTC to investigate the matter.

As if that wasn’t enough, new reports are coming in that Facebook might have overwritten Smartphone contact information to show the ‘Facebook.com’ email address as well. Fiat Lux reported the incident on Friday, and it further appears that the misdirected messages are being lost in the shuffle. Here is the crux of the post:

“a co-worker discovered that his contact info for me had been silently updated to overwrite my work email address with my Facebook email address. He discovered this only after sending work emails to the wrong address.
And even worse, the emails are not actually in my Facebook messages. I checked. They’ve vanished into the ether.
For all I know, I could be missing a lot more emails from friends, colleagues, or family members, and never even know it.”

Lux encouraged all contacts to verify that the non-Facebook.com email address is being correctly stored on Facebook connected Smartphones. You might want to check your Smartphone as well to see if any of your contacts are messed up. If they are, Lifehacker has a guide on how to fix the issue.

It is possible that some of your lost messages might appear in your “Other” Facebook Messages folder. As we have reported in the past, many users don’t realize this folder exists.

Digital Trends has reached out to Facebook on the phone synching issue. Facebook is aware of the problem, and we’ll issue an update if more information becomes available.

UPDATE: Facebook blames bug for writing over contact email addresses 

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams on Facebook.

PRIVATE WiFi® is a Personal VPN that encrypts everything you send and receive. Don’t access Facebook from a public WiFi hotspot without it.

Do Not Track + is a FREE browser plugin created by Abine. This easy to install plugin keeps websites from tracking you. If you value your online privacy, then you should definitely take advantage of this free product.

Action Alert | Free Parental Control offers a 100% free Internet safety solution designed for parents. There is also a Maximum Protection option for parents that need a more advanced set of tools.