Facebook users struggling to reactivate hacked accounts are buying $300 Oculus VR headsets just so they can talk to a customer service rep

• Facebook users bought $300 VR headsets just so they could unlock their hacked accounts, NPR reported.
• The users bought the headset from Facebook-owned Oculus when they couldn't reach customer service.
• After Oculus unlocked their Facebook account, they returned the headsets, NPR reported.

Facebook users struggling to get back into their hacked accounts are buying the company's $300 VR headset and returning them unopened just so they can reactivate their profiles, according to an NPR report.

Users told NPR they struggled to contact Facebook after they were hacked, and so couldn't unlock their accounts. After seeing a tip on Reddit, they bought a $300 headset from Oculus, a virtual-reality company owned by Facebook.

Users need an active Facebook account to use the headset. When the Facebook users contacted Oculus customer support, the company restored their Facebook accounts, NPR reported.

They then sent the unused, unopened gadget straight back to Oculus, they told NPR.

"I ultimately broke down and bought a $300 Oculus Quest 2," Brandon Sherman told NPR. "The only way you can get any customer service is if you prove that you've actually purchased something from them."

Another Facebook user from Canada told NPR they had used the same trick.

One Facebook user, Jessie Marsala, told NPR there was no email or phone number to alert Facebook about her hacked account. She then reported her account via Facebook's website.

"I sent these forms in morning, noon and night, multiple times a day," Marsala told the publication. "Nobody got back to me, not once."

A company spokesperson told NPR in a statement that Facebook's customer support center is open 24 hours a day to help users with problems.

"We also know that we need to keep improving in this area and plan to invest more in the future," they added.