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‘Profile Spy’ scam spreads on Twitter

Twitter users are falling victim to a simple but effective scam promising to show them who has been viewing their tweets.
/ Source: SecurityNewsDaily

Twitter users are falling victim to a simple but effective scam promising to show them who has been viewing their tweets.

If you see a tweet from a friend that reads, "Wow! See who viewed your twitter with Profile Spy," ignore it, the experts at the security firm Sophos say. Although the offer sounds enticing, the third-party Profile Spy app won’t do what it promises.

Instead, once it’s installed, Profile Spy worms its way into your Twitter account, spamming out its message to your contacts and even requesting you fill out a revenue-generating survey for the scammers.

Profile Spy won’t steal your personal information like other social networking scams that regularly appear on Facebook, but the barrage of spam messages won’t win you any new Twitter followers, either.

Sophos experts warn Twitter users to be careful about allowing third-party apps to access their accounts. If you do find yourself lured in by the Profile Spy scam, Sophos says you can revoke the app’s rights under the "settings" menu on Twitter’s homepage.