viral attackers use Twitter as bait

22 Jun 2009

Twitterers are being targeted by computer virus spreaders to gain email addresses from PC users.

Twitter users are contacted by a fake email invitation email usually stating a friend would like to connect with them.

The emails usually have the subject line 'Your friend invited you to twitter!' and is reportedly from invitations@twitter.com, said an analyst at Symantec.

Symantec, an online security firm warned that emails with attachments named as 'Invitation.zip' should be ignored or reported. These contain a programme that scours contacts books for email addresses. The file copies itself on to the user's computer with the potential to cause further damage.

Symantec said that there will be an increase in spammers using Twitter as bait and expects the current attacks to spread further.

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