Twitter resets accounts after offsite phishing

February 2, 2010 – 4:44 pm

Twitter is once again in the midst of a giant phishing attempt by an offsite entity. This morning, thousands of Twitter account holder were issued emails from Twitter saying that their account passwords had been reset. The email reads:

Due to concern that your account may have been compromised in a phishing attack that took place off-Twitter, your password was reset. Please create a new password by opening this link in your browser.

This isn’t the first time that Twitter has taken such precautions. Just last month it and popular social network site Facebook were under phishing attacks. The problems with these attacks don’t so much reside in the hands of Twitter and Facebook programmers, but rather third party programs that have become very popular with each service. Both sites allow for integration with other websites or application. Facebook Connect, for instance, allows for your username and password to be the same as your Facebook account and also allows things to be posted to your account that don’t happen in Facebook.

As a Twitter or Facebook user, be careful when clicking on a link and allowing a third party or offsite website to use your account information. In some cases it is safe and secure, but only confirm a request if you’re sure about the application or website. Many users have lost control of their accounts after allowing access to unknown parties. It can cause major problems and allow them access to private information, files and pictures that you may have uploaded to your profiles.

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