14 DAY TRIAL // Security researchers warn of a survey scam currently making the rounds on Twitter which tricks users by promising them the ability to view their profile visitors.
According to Robert Graham of Errata Security, victims post spam messages that read "94 people viewed my profile today!" followed by "Wow! See who viewed your twitter with Profile Spy [link]"
Clicking on the link takes users to a page asking for an app called "Profile Spy" to connect to their accounts.
This app is used for the scam's propagation and if allowed, it will start sending spam from the victim's accounts without their permission.
People who agree to connect with the application will be redirected to a page asking them to participate in a survey, allegedly as a security check.
These surveys try to sign up users for premium rate mobile services or are part of legit affiliate marketing campaigns that are abused by the scammers.
Each time a user completes a survey, the scammers earn a commission, which makes it worthwhile to keep the attacks going.
"There might be further malware in those links designed to compromise your machine or accounts, like clickjacking exploits," warns Mr. Graham.
"I followed the first one, and it's a typical scam that asks you to fill out endless surveys and promises you'll win a prize at the end -- but there is no end to the popups you have to go through," he adds.
The Profile Spy scams have plagued Facebook for a long time and it's a theme that always keeps returning. They are less common on Twitter, because people are not used with installing Twitter apps as the Facebook ones are.
People who fell victim to this attack should go to Profile > Edit your profile > Connections, and revoke the rogue app's access. They should also remove the spammy tweets from their feed.