So how do you protect yourself and what is really happening with these bogus URLs?

If you haven’t yet come across one of these phishing attempts, or you have and haven’t realized, let me explain what is happening;

Via a DM, you will receive a message from someone that you are following, so you will be inclined to trust them. The messages will always contain a link and entice you to click. Some of the previous scams have included messages such as;

“LOL – is This You __________ <—– link”

“Someone wrote something about you on this blog _________ <—— link”

If you click on the url, time will not cease – not will your laptop explode but what happens next could expose your personal details to the pondscum of the scam world

You will be redirected to a page which may look similar to the Twitter login page, you will see the user name and password box and without thinking, you may enter your details

DON’T ENTER YOUR DETAILS

Ideally, don’t even follow the link but whatever you do – don’t enter your details.

What Happens When You Do

Stage 1) If you entered your details – act fast. The fake page is noting everyones login details and stage one is that they can access your Twitter account, this means that not only can they ‘tweet’ from it and send the same message by DM to your followers, they can also see your email address and any other details you have on your account details.

Stage 2) They will Direct Message as many of your followers with the same fake link as they can, not only will you lose followers – fast – you will also have many of them falling victim to the same scam. They are also likely to ‘Tweet’ from your a/c with fake tweets persuading people to ‘find out how you made a ton of cash’ and rubbish like that.

Stage 3) Now that they have your details they have potential access to your email account. Do you use the same password on Twitter that you use elsewhere? Maybe your PayPal account?

Stage 4) Once they are in your email a/c, they have access to alsorts of details, probably including financial details.

Has This Happened to You?

• If it has, change your details/passwords immediately. Especially if you do use the same password to access numerous places. Many people believe that the Twitter phishing scam is purely to access your followers – but it runs deeper than that.

• Make sure that you use a different password for different accounts – yes, it can become tedious but use an encrpyted page on your computer to keep track of them all, or a notebook or something like Roboform (I use this) to securely remember all of your passwords.

• Don’t assume that sending DM messages is a safe way to pass information around – it isn’t

• Always think twice before clicking on any URL sent by direct message unless you are expecting it

• Don’t let the scammers ruin your use or enjoyment of Twitter, remember that they don’t get your details unless you log in to their fake page, so if you happen to click on a dodgy link, don’t panic.

I hope this helps you to understand the importance of using unique passwords and the possible consequences if you don’t. Please pass this article on to anyone who you feel would benefit,

Stay safe online,

Nikki

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