NCL Fraud Center offers tips to avoid Twitter scams

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Our friends at National Consumers League have issued an important warning for Twitter users. NCL's Fraud Center says that scammers see millions of Twitter users as potential targets of underhanded tactics. Scams on Twitter usually involve some kind of link or promise from either a user you don't know or a user whose account has been compromised.

A common scheme is for a scammer to create an account then follow or direct message hundreds or thousands of other users. Each time a user is followed, they receive an alert with a link to the scammer's profile. The profile often contains links to malware or phishing sites. A recently popular method of this is a direct message or tweet with a message like "LOL is this really you?" with a link attached.

Yet another scheme scammers use is to post something that leads to a link that looks like a Twitter login page, but isn't, and thus when a user types in his username and password, the fraudster has access to their account and can use it to target others. Other signs of a fraudulent account are: repeatedly posting duplicate updates, abusing basic functions of Twitter to get attention, and posting links with unrelated tweets.

Visit the NCL's Fraud Center to read tips on how to avoid Twitter scams.