Hacking a business Twitter account seems to be a favorite pastime for those wanting some kind of retribution and for others it’s just plain fun.  Once the businesses Twitter account is hacked their reputation is sullied making them look like they aren’t protecting their client’s data either.

In the past year NBC, Fox News, USA Today and a CNN anchor were the most visible of those attacked. Here are some twitter scams to be aware of:

Jacked Twitter Accounts:  Accounts including those of President Obama, Britney Spears, and others were taken over and used to make fun of, ridicule, harass or commit fraud.

Hundreds of fake twitter accounts are set up every day. Sarah Palin, St Louis Cardinals Coach Tony LaRussa, Kanye West, Huffington Post and many others have had Twitter accounts opened in their names or names likened to them.

Twitter Worms: Worms infiltrating Twitter spread easily because rather than activating by clicking, users only needed to hover over a link to trigger an action.

Twitter as a Botnet Controller: Twitter account Hackers are now using Twitter account to send coded update messages to computers they’ve previously infected with rogue code

Twitter Phishing: If you receive a direct message or a direct message email notification that redirects to what looks like Twitter.com—don’t sign in. Look closely at the URL because it could be a scam.

Twitter Spam: The use of short URLs has made Twitters 140 character limit the perfect launch pad for spam leading to diet pills, Viagra and whatever else you don’t need.

#1 When experiencing problems revoke all access to 3rd party accounts connected to your Twitter account.

#2 Change up your password every 6 months or when experiencing issues (which ever comes first).

#3 Don’t click links in DMs or your feed unless you uncover short URLs first.