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Adult spam hits Twitter

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Twitter logoA computer security firm is warning Twitter users to be on the lookout for a spam attack that has affected approximately 750 accounts on the popular micro-blogging site. Inappropriate messages were being sent from compromised accounts in an effort to drive traffic to a pornographic website, Chatwebcamfree.

 

IT security and control firm Sophos said the messages, which are being spammed out as Tweets, resemble the following:

“hey!  23/Female.  Come chat with me on my webcam thingy here” followed by a link to the Chatwebcamfree website.

However, the index page of the website serves up obfuscated JavaScript that loads a variety of pornographic adverts and contains a web form directed to a site called eroticgateway.com.

“If a hacker has managed to ascertain your Twitter password then there is a chance that they may have also compromised your system in other ways too,” warned Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

“We’re seeing more and more attacks from spammers, phishers, malware authors, scammers and identity thieves against users of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook – similar adult webcam messages were spotted on Facebook just last month.”

Cluley said that actions weren’t just proof-of-concept attacks in controlled conditions, but “everyday full-blooded assaults” making money out of real people.

“Any Twitter users who find that they have unwittingly posted messages like this would be wise to change their Twitter password immediately,” advised Cluley.

“Furthermore, if you use that password on any other non-Twitter account then you must also change those passwords too in order to keep your online website accounts secure.”

Twitter has confirmed that it has now reset the passwords of all compromised accounts which should cease the tidal wave of spam messages for the time being.

It is not yet known how the criminals compromised the Twitter accounts.