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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Phished Through Twitter

I am embarrassed to admit but I was just Phished through Twitter. I must admit that I don't understand how a Twitter Phishing excursion works, but it is a problem.

About 2:00 this afternoon, I was having problems sending tweets. It suggested that I wait 60 minutes and try again. I waited, tried and failed. Then I waited another 60 minutes, tried and failed. I just couldn't tweet or Direct Message.

I began receiving Direct Messages from followers suggesting that I change my password because I had been phished. I changed my password immediately. Reviewing my sent DMs, I found a stream of DMs that my account had sent to my followers.

Mashable reported that the Twitter Phishing attack began on Feb 20. It begins when you receive a tweet that says "lol, is this you?" and it links to a site called "Bzpharma". DON'T GO THERE!!! If you go there and enter your information, you will be the brunt of a huge spam assault. The virus will also go through your followers list and attack them with Direct Messages that will include a link to that phishing website.

I don't remember clicking on a Direct Message like this. I have seen this virus come through email so I am careful about this.

However it happened, to all of you who received this virus DM,

I AM SORRY!


I still don't have access to Twitter. I see why they have shut down any of the infected accounts. I have contacted the Twitter Support people about this and will wait for their reply.

Tweet Safe and DON'T take the Phishing bait!!!

What have been your experiences with Twitter Phishing?

Z

Photo: flickr.com/ToastyKen

1 comment:

  1. You sent this too me! I figured if it was from you, it is legit. Guess I was wrong. My computer security blocked me from going to the page. I am glad for that. I did have a problem like this with bankofamerica. I got an email telling me my online account is locked due to repeated login attempts, but I hadn't logged in. It even had the bankofamerica logos and everything. It asked me to enter my SS# and account # to unsuspend my account. I reported it to bankofamerica security and fraud.
    It is important to report these things so it can be investigated and hopefully taken care of or a warning be sent out to stop the spread!

    ReplyDelete

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