Twitter Direct Message Scam Spam

Social networking websites are garnering more users everyday. They have become part of our lives now - whether you like it or not. Businesses are using the media's power for marketing purposes and whoever denies the power of social media will be on the losing end eventually.

We have a number of scam stories regarding Facebook and we feel it is essential to discuss on a common Twitter scam this time.

If you are a Twitter user, you may occasionally receive direct messages from the user whom you are following.

Below are some real-life examples of direct message spam (scam in disguise).

Hi somebody is saying really bad things about you... http://alturl.com/*vytkn

Hi some person is making nasty things about you... http://tinyurl.com/*btzxskg

Hey some person is making terrible rumors about you... http://sn.im/*230ml0t

ROFL...I'm laughing so hard at this pic of me my friend uploaded http://tinyurl.com/*7uhuvcr

Fastest way to lose weight while removing toxins & boost energy levels http://tinyurl.com/*d5up9tb

lol...OMG I'm laughing so hard at this picture of me someone uploaded http://tinyurl.com/*c4t7xbr

Asterisks "*" are inserted into the URLs by us on purpose.

These messages are automatically generated and posted to you by infected accounts. The main intention is to arouse your curiosity so that you will visit the URL included at the end of it.

If you study the top few examples properly, you can see similarities in them. They can be just a few sets of similar words, which are spin randomly before sending to you. This is because the infected account may be spamming all its followers again within the next few days, and the scammer wants to make the messages look different.

We apologize that our team is not brave enough to click on the URLs to test them. There are some scenarios that are likely to happen if you were to click on the URL:

1. Your computer will be infected by malware or spyware immediately if you do not have an anti-virus software installed.
2. Your Twitter account will be automatically infected by the same virus and it will be sending similar spam direct message to your Twitter followers.
3. The webpage ends up to look like Twitter's login page (phishing scam) and requires you to key in your username and password, and then your Twitter account will be sending similar spam direct message to your Twitter followers because the scammer has obtained your login details.
4. The webpage will prompt you to authorize certain app to your Twitter account, and then your Twitter account will be sending similar spam direct message to your Twitter followers.

It is pretty clear that you should just ignore all suspicious direct messages that contain URL, especially when the URL is shortened and you do not know the exact URL. Be safe than to be sorry!

SingTel / SingNet Phishing Scam

SingNet users have been receiving emails from "SingNet", requesting for the users' password within five working days. Failing to comply with it will cause their accounts to be terminated.

SingTel has issued notices to warn its customers about it and not to divulge their personal information and passwords to the sender. SingNet customers can report any case of internet abuse at http://www.singnet.com.sg/help/security/othersIAReport.asp.

There are, in fact, a few ways to prevent yourself from being scammed.

1. By logical thinking
   There is no need for companies to get your password, as they can easily amend any detail inside your account since they have direct access to the database. It is also not cost-efficient for big companies to engage staffs to request for your password personally. Reliable websites usually encrypt your password before storing it into their databases, and therefore, their webmasters or IT support teams will not be able to retrieve your password; however, they can easily reset your password if necessary.
   
   
2. Checking the sender
   It is easy for anyone to disguise the real mail server's address. If you feel weird about the email, do look at the full email headers for all the details.
   
   
3. Mouse over the hyperlink (do not click it!)
   When your mouse points over the hyperlink, the status bar in your web browser will display the actual URL it is pointing to. The hyperlink may show http://www.singtel.com/login but the actual link may be pointing to http://singtel.scamyouhahahaha.com/login; this is just normal HTML coding. In this case, do note that scamyouhahahaha.com is the actual website and singtel is just a sub directory of scamyouhahahaha.com. The website that you are directed to is likely to appear similar to the original website.

Phishing is an old tactic for scammer to steal your login particulars. It is usually targeting websites such as Paypal, which has less security than your internet banking. If you are using any free online email, you can go through your spam or bulk mail folder and there should be quite a number of such phishing emails.