Is Your Twitter Account Hacked?

Over the last 24-48 hours we are [again] seeing a DM phishing attack blowing through Twitter accounts. Are you spamming your Twitter followers with Direct Messages (DM) that contain links leading to phishing websites? Have you received a Twitter DM to a Twitter login page that isn’t the actual Twitter login page?

How would you know?

One quick way is to filter tweets on yourself by using the @’youaccountname’ link to the right on Twitter’s home page. Do you see tweets from you, but in fact not from you? If you answered yes, your Twitter account may likely be compromised.

The number of ways your Twitter account is susceptible to hacking possibly depends on more than one factor. Here’s Twitter’s guidance on compromised accounts:

Reset your password and Revoke Connections
1. Reset your password. if you can log into your account, please change your password immediately from the Passwords Tab in your Account Settings. You can also use the Twitter password reset feature to request an email with instructions for resetting your password. Select a strong password you haven’t used before.

2. Revoke connections. Once you’ve logged in, visit the Connections tab in Account Settings. Revoke access for any third-party application that you don’t recognize.

3. Update your new password in your third-party applications. If a trusted external application or widget uses your Twitter password, be sure to update your password in the application. Otherwise, your account may be temporarily locked.

If You Still Can’t Access Your Account
1. Request a password reset: If you can’t get into your account, try to reset your password first, using both your username and email address. Be sure to check all your email inboxes if you’re uncertain which email address you associated with your account.

2. Contact support from the email you created the account with: If you still can’t get in, contact us by submitting a Support request.

Please be sure to include in your request:

Your username
Any email addresses you think might be associated with your account
The last date you had access to your account
The phone number associated with the account (if you verified your phone)

Protect your Account with Simple Precautions!
If you think your account was hacked and you’re able to regain access, please make sure to:

Delete any remaining, unwanted Tweets.
Scan your computers for viruses & malware, especially if unauthorized tweets continue to be posted after you’ve changed the password.
Always use a strong, new password you don’t use elsewhere and would be difficult to guess.
Visit our Safe Tweeting page for more information on avoiding hacks and phishing.

How Accounts Become Compromised (Did somebody hack me?)
Accounts may become compromised if you’ve entrusted your username and password to a third-party application, or if your Twitter account is vulnerable due to a weak password, viruses or malware on your computer, or a compromised network

Unexpected updates don’t always mean that your account was hacked. Occasionally, a third-party application can have a bug that causes weird things to happen your account. If you see strange behavior, changing your password and revoking connections will stop it, as the application will no longer have access to your account.

It’s best to take action as soon as possible if updates are appearing in your account that you did not intend to have posted or approve. You can find more information about Account Security on the Safe Tweeting help page.

Tweet safely.