Twitter Phish Moguls in Generous Mood

You`d think that centuries (or should I say micro-centuries) of warnings against handing out valid e-mail addresses in the hope of getting one`s hands on various gadgets would work their magic at some point and put little league phishers out of work FOREVER. Think again!

A nice man called Fernand Braudel (ok, fellow academic purists, stop shaking with fury”¦renowned historian or not, he WAS a nice man, wasn`t he?) would remind you that there are “old attitudes of thought and action, resistant frameworks dying hard, at times against all logic“. That`s what he understood by “la longue durÃƒÂ©e” (the long term) of history and that`s what we should all keep in mind”¦.apparently. Or, as somebody`s grandma put it: “old habits do die hard”.

Here`s a snapshot of one (of the many) revelations delivered by the icerocket oracle:

Think of it as the e-mail address stock exchange. People buying, other people selling. As the innocent bystander that I am, here`s what this picture`s telling me:

Note 1: OMFG! Sweet! Awesum! Insane! Whoah! Hell Ya! are still up high on scammers` list of preferred ice-breakers. Question: what happened to groovy, cool, neat? Come on, guys, it`s called a thesaurus. Do stand out in this caps lock-loving crowd!

Note 2: If you ever wondered how you could reel in ginormous crowds worthy of a World Cup of Scams, make sure you casually slip into your 140 character masterpieces keywords such as iPad, Dell, Xbox, MacBook Pro. On the other hand, the Ikea Gift Card is a no go. Eccentric, but inefficient. Shoot for the stars, I`d say!

Note 3: “I just received a [coveted treasure]” does seem to be the piece de resistance of scammers` testimonial repertoire. It`s got a very strong emotional appeal. It leaves room for imagination to work in all sorts of details. Your public can actually SEE the lucky recipients, their glimmering eyes. I bet that if you touch the screen you`ll feel the thrill of the crowd madly accessing the promise-fulfilling links.

Note 4: JUST inputting your e-mail is never just that. Most of the time, it`s an endless series of surveys that you must take to go to the next step”¦.yet another survey. Or, as illustrated in the case below, various schemes in which you`re required to input your phone number and then send an SMS to get a life-changing answer to a crucial question such as “Does HE/SHE love me?”.

Translation: Love Calculator. Send an SMS with the word LOVE to [number] and you`ll find out your love score!

Today`s words of wisdom: it`s better to watch the show than to be it. Safego for Twitter will help you do just that!

This article is based on the technical information provided courtesy of Tudor Florescu, BitDefender Online Threats Analyst

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