This morning I had two new Direct Messages in my twitter account both read –
lol , this is funny (and a LINK) and the other one read Lol. this you?? (and a LINK) Different people and profiles sent them to me but it was the exact same link.
Both are most likely a phishing scam since part of the link included a login area. It is a method to try and capture my username and password. Why? … is sometime still beyond my understanding but once they have the password they need then the hacker sometimes sends messages from your accounts to your friends and followers saying they were stuck on a trip and to wire money – so I guess if even a few people fall for it – that may be why the hackers do this. Other reasons, may be simply because they can and some links will include viruses as well.
How do you protect yourself in a world where you can be connected to thousands of people and have no way of personally knowing each person and knowing you can trust every link that come your way.
Be Aware:
- Check your own sent Direct Messages on Twitter and Facebook and make certain that any sent messages are ones you did send.
- Read messages before clicking. Yes that means slow down your trigger finger and read. If you don’t know the person, use caution – look at the link and make sure it seems reasonable. If it is out of character for that person then be wary.
- Contact the other party and ask if they sent you a message that said ” lol is this you?” Don’t include the link or they may click on it – but your note back to them may be the first they realize they may have been hacked.
Checking your own profile regularly should be a part of your weekly tasks on social media. It is something we do for our clients when we manage their social media accounts.
Look at your profiles, messages and posts – make sure it is all correct. If it looks messages have gone out that you did not setup/authorize – first thing to do is change your password. As noted in a previous post, your email password assigned to your social media accounts should always be different a well. If it is not – then you also need to check that account and change its password.
Online Reputation is a big reason why people use social media – having it compromised can bring you down, and you may not ever realize what happened. Be Aware and Keep your Reputation more Secure.
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