Twitter has been very busy with lots of talk of phishing scams. I received one of the messages and wanted to pass along some tips to anyone who might have received a weird direct message via Twitter. The message I received said "Check out this funny blog post".
1) For now I recommend not to click on any links sent to you via Direct Message- This is just a safety precaution, because just clicking on a link does not seem to cause any problems. But why not just not take a risk and not click on any links until this scam goes away. I know this may seem controversial, because a lot people send out direct messages with links to their blogs or websites. But it just makes it easier for right now.
2) If you do click on any links make sure to not enter any logins or passwords- The link takes you to a website that asks for either twitter or sometimes facebook login and password. Do not enter this information. I would recommend not entering your twitter login and password into any website other than twitter. I know there are other applications that work with twitter that require your login and password, but again this scam has changed things. If you did click on this link don't panic, just clicking on the link does not seem to affect your computer.
3) If you did enter your login and password into website change your password- I recommend changing your password if your account was compromised. I don't know if it will help, but it can't hurt.
4) If you receive a direct message with scam message notify twitter user who sent it to you- Keep in mind they are only a victim of the scam. But it would be nice to send them an @ message letting them know their twitter account may have been compromised and recommending they change their password.
If I receive any more information as to how to protect yourself against this scam I will update this blog post.
Most people don't fully understand phishing and can easily be compromised. This is a great excerpt for them to follow.
Posted by: James Delong | January 08, 2009 at 01:44 PM