Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Twitter Hit by Another Direct Message Phishing Scam

by Caleb Johnson on October 29, 2009 at 11:01 AM

It seems like every day that a new phishing scam hits Twitter, and Wednesday was no different. According to CNET News, Twitter warned its users to be on the lookout for a phishing scam that attacks via direct messages. "[If] you've received a strange (direct message), and it takes you to a Twitter log-in page, don't do it!," Twitter warned in a post.

Of course, this isn't the first scam that disguises itself in a direct message. But this message attempts to fool you by posing as a dear friend. According to Sophos, the message reads: "hi. this you on here?" and is followed by a link to the phishing site. The link, if clicked, redirects you to a fake Twitter log-in page, where the phishers intend to steal your user name and password. If you enter both, you'll see a faux over-capacity page that's supposed to make the scam seem more real. When Sophos logged in to the false page, it was directed to the over-capacity page, and then to a blog by someone called NetMeg99. It's unclear as to whether or not that blog is part of the scam, too.

If you've already fallen victim to this scam, change your Twitter password right away. Just to be safe, it might be a good idea to change your password on other sites, too, since that information could be compromised. Even though Twitter is aware of this problem, it wouldn't hurt to use the site's security feature to let them know you've been hacked.

Our last piece of advice: please, please, please don't click unfamiliar links. It's like eating that half of a sandwich you left out overnight; it might look appealing, but you'll likely pay for it later. [From: CNET News and Sophos]

Tags: microblogging, password, phishing, scam, security, socialnetworking, top, twitter, web

Comments

2

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular