14 DAY TRIAL // Remember the malicious StalkTrak app that was making the rounds back in January? It seems that it’s back and a number of Twitter customers have reported unwittingly giving it permission to post on their behalf.
When we first reported about StalkTrak, its developers were using the “tvvitter.com” domain to advertise their creation.
This time, StalkTrak seems to spread via the tweets it makes on behalf of those who authorize the application. The victims will see messages such as these on their feed: Hi some person is making terrible things about you, Hi someone is posting very bad stuff about you, or Hey somebody is making really bad things about you.
And the worst part of it is that it doesn’t even work. StalkTrak simply displays a list of users, but they’re certainly not stalkers. Experts from GFI tested it on a private account and the result was 700 stalkers, which is highly improbable.
So what to do to avoid falling victim to such plots and what to do if you have already fallen for it?
First of all, beware of shady apps. Do a quick search on the Internet before authorizing an app to gain access to your profile, tweets, DMs, and followers.
On the other hand, if you have already fallen for this scam, make sure to access your Twitter setting page and revoke the app.
Finally, remember that most social media networks don’t allow you to see who your stalkers are and apps can’t change that. Similar applications have also been seen making the rounds on Facebook but, similar to StalkTrak, they never actually work.
Instead, their main goal is to advertise all sorts of shady products or, in some cases, even serve nasty pieces of malware.