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November 2, 2009 1:18 PM PST

Spammy scams surfacing on Twitter, Facebook

by Elinor Mills
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Twitter and Facebook users were getting hit with scams on Monday.

Twitter users warned about direct messages that said, "I make money online with google. i learned how here [link]," according to Twitter users.

A Twitter representative said it was not a phishing scam because the site to which the spam links does not ask for a username and password, or look like a Twitter page.

"We're on it and fixing accounts as fast as possible," she wrote in an e-mail. "You can keep posted on known issues as well by checking in on the Twitter Status page."

On Facebook, meanwhile, people were seeing messages from friends that said, "just take a look at it and read it over and try it if you want [link]." The link goes to a site that appears to be hosting malware. Accounts that are generating the messages are likely compromised, and the owners should change their passwords immediately.

"We're aware of this campaign, and are blocking malicious URLs and resetting affected users' accounts," a Facebook representative said in an e-mail. "The link in the spam message is for a work-at-home scam, not a phishing site. We're still investigating, but it's likely people's accounts were compromised through a previous phishing scheme."

Twitter users warned about a "make money online with google" scam on Monday.

(Credit: Twitter Search)

Updated at 3:39 p.m. PST with Facebook comment and at 2:15 p.m. PST with comment from Twitter.

Originally posted at InSecurity Complex
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register)
by Harrison912 November 3, 2009 9:44 AM PST
As a web site owner of safety and security products using Twitter for marketing purposes, I particularly hate this sort of thing. Not only is it spammy but it's a scam as well. Thanks, Elinor, for the heads up.
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by phildeeznuts December 26, 2009 8:15 AM PST
Hmm, i tried purchasing this product. the company sent a cd with a few useful things on it. You have to make sure that you read the terms of service before making any purchase or signing up for anything online.
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