Users of Twitter Hit by a Fresh Spam Campaign

Date: 06 May 2010

Security officials cautioned web users about a new spam campaign which disguises as messages from the reputed micro-blogging site Twitter.

The security experts stated that the spam messages have satirized headers so that it may seem to have come from the support team of Twitter. The spam mail is efficiently designed so that it easily surpasses anti-spam filters of Gmail.

Further, to lure users for clicking the attached link, the spam employs the logo of Twitter and informs that users have many unread messages in their Twitter account.

In order to render further authenticity to the e-mail, it also has a disclaimer message that usually comes with generic mails from Twitter. The disclaimer message states, "Please do not reply to this message; it was sent from an unmonitored email address. This message is a service email related to your use of Twitter".

On his blog, Senior Technology Consultant at Sophos, Graham Cluley, stated that the mail about unreadable message is a total sham. It is just crafted to take the users to a recognizable Canadian pharmacy site that sells duplicates of Cialis and Viagra, as per the news published by ecreditdaily.com on April 23, 2010.

Cluley opined that the most perfect way of reducing the amount of unsolicited mails is to be wary of them and not to purchase from spammed offers. The rise in spam levels can be attributed to users' gullible nature in following the fake offers.

On April 22, 2010, Twitter published on its safety page that Twitter Support does not send mails regarding any unread messages. It also said that users should be cautious of unsolicited mails.

Finally, security officials examining the spam campaign suggested users to stay away from buying products from unfamiliar vendors, particularly unregulated goods that can pose major health risks. They also added that purchasing from spam is also related to financial fraud and identity theft.

Moreover, users are also being advised by security officials to download Internet security software that can prohibit any unsolicited mails even from reaching the inboxes of users.

Source: http://www.spamfighter.com/News-14339-Users-of-Twitter-Hit-by-a-Fresh-Spam-Campaign.htm