Beware TwitViewer Phishing Scam

By Jessica Madison on July 28th, 2009

twitviewer

The new website TwitViewer.net is currently making its rounds throughout the internet, or should I say, the world of Twitter. Being retweeted again and again, a message carrying the site’s link is asking, “Want to know whos stalking you on Twitter?” Allegedly, if you sign up, the website will give you the ability to check and see who has been looking at your Twitter profile. An ability that, if true, would crush the hearts of hopeless wallflowers everywhere, worried that their unrequited love would soon be found out.

However, multiple reports are now coming out claiming not only that the website doesn’t work, but that it is likely a phishing scam as well. That is to say, when you enter your Twitter information into the website, it keeps it. And likely for ill-use. In the mean time it gives you a list of 200 or so Twitter users, but the list seems to be completely randomized. For example, the website Mashable tested the theory out by creating a brand new twitter account, and TwitViewer reported back, within minutes, that a few hundred users had already checked out the profile. Which, to say the least, is very unlikely.

Twitter itself is getting in on the action and warning against TwitViewer too. In a recent message the social media service said, “If you gave your login and password info to TwitViewer, we strongly suggest you change your password now. Thanks!”

To which, I agree. And in the future, don’t input your login information for anything unless it’s from a trusted source. Oh, and check the URL too, sometimes phishing scams will trick you by designing pages that look exactly like the Facebook login – for example – that can be tricky, unless you look at the URL at the top of your browser. So check it. Oh, and, for the record:

Wallflowers: 1 TwitViewer: 0

(photo courtesy of Mashable)