I posted this on the facebook lemmy, but I guess there’s no one there. So maybe I can get help here.

Where I live (Australia), specially in smaller towns, facebook is a requirement. Gumtree is dead, so any second hand products, room rental and even jobs are done only through facebook.

I tried a few times creating a fake account but quickly they lock my account, even if I don’t use it. I’m not sure how they know my data is fake, but I’d rather smash my face on the wall than giving zuckeberg any personal info.

Is there any way? Any specific things I need to look for when creating an account? I tried using believable names and email, but no luck…

This is hard for me. I absolutely hate facebook and I want it to die. But I have to accept that I’m surrounded by people who don’t care if they are ####### over by an american billionaire, and I have to conform if I want to interact with them. So any help is appreciated.

More specifically, I wanted to find second hand objects, jobs and maybe rent a room. All of which seems to be a facebook only thing, unfortunately.

Also, is there like a proxy website where I can do that without going to the actual facebook? Like youtube, instagram and others have websites like this. But when I search for “facebook proxy” I only find people so desperate to use it that they want to circumvent work or school networks that block it.

Edit: following recommendations, I made an account with a burner number I had here (I have a few usually just in case). I’ll update if that still gets me banned. Thanks for all replies!

Edit2: Next day, I’m not banned yet. Phone number is what they want, as I feared. It’s what defines you as an individual for them to invest in. It is very sad, but it is what it is.

Anyone wanting to do this, even if you make an account, try as much as you can to find what you need outside and only use it if there’s no other option. You are giving them money when you interact with them.