porn name scam on twitter
By Dr. Charlie Glickman • May 13th, 2009 • Category: BlogFrom XBiz
Be warned:
PCWorld Magazine posted an online security alert about a porn-themed scam designed to get users to reveal the answers to their security questions.
<snip>
Scammers on Twitter have started a discussion trend asking users to build a porn name by combining the name of the first street they lived on with their mother’s maiden name, the latter being one of the most common security questions for online services.
From a comment on PCWorld Magazine:
Deleting your post (or tweet) does NOT remove it from the public eye! After you delete a post it remains under the “search” feature of Twitter for 6 plus days! Also, Google indexes MANY tweets… forever! Just CHANGE ALL PASSWORDS ASAP if you have listed any personal information!
Heads up, folks!
Dr. Charlie Glickman >> Dr. Charlie Glickman has been working at Good Vibrations since 1996, when he joined the staff at our Berkeley store. Currently, he is our Education Program Manager and (among other things) runs our in-store After Hours workshop program, our Off-Site Sex Education Program, trains our Sex Educator-Sales Associates and writes copy for our website. In 2005, Charlie received his doctorate in Adult Sexuality Education from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, he offers classes on sexuality for psychotherapists and workshops on teaching for sex educators.
All posts by Dr. Charlie Glickman
Everyone knows you develop your porn name with the first street you lived on, and the name of your first pet… wow, what a brilliant way to scam security answers.
Another tip is to beware of any AP that asks you for your (Twitter, or any service really) username and password – be sure you trust the company before divulging password info.
Thanks for the post, Charlie!
@Knono your pet’s first name and other obscure information about you are other types of security questions so one that asked you to make a porn name out of any two random pieces of info is generally a scam.
RE The comment from PC World: changing your passwords won’t do you any good if they have your security question answers…. you need to go into your settings and change the security questions you chose if that info is available on line anywhere.
@Dallas my point exactly. (I wonder if the folks who come up with those kinds of questions ever made the connection? )
Great tip on how to re-establish security answers.