There’s nothing worse than getting those spammy messages on Facebook from that person you accidentally followed three years ago. You probably scoff and shake your head, appalled at how dim someone has to be to get their account hacked, but then you head over to that app that checks who looks at your Twitter page, and you’re none the wiser.
Turns out, there’s an app on the market that claims it can track and record who views your Twitter page. All it takes is a few clicks and suddenly the app has complete access to several important features of your Twitter account, including updating your profile information and creating and sending Tweets. Yup, you read that right. This “100 percent safe!” app can write and post Tweets on any account it has access to.
For the most part, the scam has been used to post ads from the victim’s account, but there’s always a chance for malicious activities. Trusting an unlicensed application could lead to losing control of an account, stealing personal information, and getting locked out of the account completely. Even worse, it might be possible for the scammers to try to download malware on to the victim’s computer.
While the scam has yet to be reported malicious (just a little irritating) and is easy to remove (revoke access and delete it), it’s a reminder that fake social media enhancements exist and anyone can fall for them. With Data Privacy Day, January 28th, having just passed, we’re reminding you to be selective about what apps can access your accounts. To scammers and hackers, accounts are a goldmine of useful information. Don’t fall victim because you wanted to see who visited your profile:
Think B4 U click (or download)!