Twtfaster Compromises Twitter Accounts
by Frank Jovine on 05/07/2010 in Security, Social Networking
A received a message on Twitter about a new site that automatically can increase followers on Twitter. I had to investigate to see what they were offering and what the terms were. I was amazed at what I found on Twtfaster. If you sign up with this service, you just handed them the keys to your account and your account is now compromised.
There are already thousands of Twitter accounts that have been compromised. The spammers are still active as of this posting and are posting messages advertising Twtfaster which claims to help users attract more followers.
A typical message reads:
CHECK out this site, I am a member of it, it gets you more followers: http://tinyurl.com/[removed]
Clicking on one of these links takes you to the Twtfaster website, which asks you to enter your Twitter username and password.
Twtfaster website suggests that they plan to use your account to advertise their service – I am sure many people didn’t read the rules before handing off their credentials.
Here’s the rules page:
Rules:
* You have to add all vip users and 20 regular users to join the train.
* We may use your account to promote our services, with the exception of VIP account.
* The fee for VIP is non-refundable.
* After payment, give us up to 6 hours to update your VIP status.
Do not sign up for this service as your account will be used to promote this service as stated in the rules page that I provided above.
Christie
May 7th, 2010
Whoa! It’s great that you read it… I know a lot of people probably sign up for all sorts of stuff in a hurry, and as long as it’s free, then why bother reading the rules?
Frank Jovine
May 7th, 2010
Christie,
I read the fine print always. But I know many people don’t and that will cost them one day.
Thanks!
g7w
May 8th, 2010
Nice article Frank thanks!
Inspired a little looking into, there are a few current domains associated:
twtfaster.info
96.9.130.181
twtaddup.info
twtaddup.com
twtexpress.info
twtexpress.com
They are now rated low in WOT and will help protect your readers who use the add-on available at: http://www.mywot.com
Frank Jovine
May 9th, 2010
g7w,
Nice find as always! I will give these a all red alert as well.
Thank you
Louise
May 9th, 2010
That’s what happened to me! what can i do to stop it?
Rockstar Sid
May 9th, 2010
Check your third party access page on Twitter and block them. Or else change your twitter password.
BTW, been using twitter from past 1 year and have never signed up for such spammy services
Mark Johnson
May 10th, 2010
Wow, it’s like a pyramid scheme for Twitter.
It’s a shame really, because people seem to think that they key to Twitter is to have as many followers as possible, which makes them a prime target for this.
Often times, the person with 100 followers has a better audience than the person with 5,000. Hopefully as the network evolves people will start to return to relationship building rather than just focussing on the numbers.
Still, you’re going to get spammers everywhere whatever happens I guess. It’s just a shame when these companies ruin it for unsuspecting Tweeters. It’s all of the genuine users who lose out.
Frank Jovine
May 10th, 2010
Mark,
I would rather have 100 followers I know, than 4000 who I have no idea who they are, just to have that many followers.
Welcome to TechJaws.
Ricky
May 11th, 2010
Good fine. I remember very well how I fall in trouble few months back. One of the better way is to remove authentication of such services from “connections” tab and change your password immediately.
Frank Jovine
May 11th, 2010
Ricky,
Followers should be earned the right way and not through automation.
Andrew@BloggingGuide
May 12th, 2010
I’ve heard about Twtfaster and good thing I didn’t bite. Then i read about it here. It is a good idea to check your site first if something new comes up. You can never be too sure in the internet with cyber criminals using popular sites to scam people.
timethief
May 17th, 2010
I’m so tired of these Twitter schemes. They are all upon getting followers fast. Well, the truth is it takes time to create actual relationships that become true friendships and any other kind aren’t worth pursuing.
Thanks for the heads up. I appreciate the warning and won’t be compromising my account by opening the door to this kind of take over.
Frank Jovine
May 17th, 2010
timethief,
Some criminals will put time into building trust in order to lure in their victim. It is a shame, but it will forever be a common thing on the net.