Legal Marketing & PR

Will business use of Twitter perish? 

Various rounds of phishing schemes have pelted Twitter users over the last couple years. 

Usually this means someone you know had their account hacked and you receive a DM (Direct Message) that attempts to compel you to click on a link in the DM. Individual users find this an annoyance, to be sure. 

But corporate brands whose branded accounts are hacked to send out phishing messages are more than annoyed, they are horrified. This week, several CPA and law firms unintentionally DM'd their followers with with these messages.

This week has seen some ususually heavy activity with two schemes running rampant: "This you?????" messages and a more sexually explicit message (both are links to Mashable explaining the hacks). New hacks occur every week.

Unlike blogs where authors can manage comment spam, these Twitter invaders send out literally ANYthing under YOUR name. It's unnerving. And it can happen to anyone at anytime.

Prevention

• Savvy Twitters users don't click on links in DMs (unless it is EXTREMELY obvious it is a personal and legit message from someone they know - personal context of the message is the clue)
• Savvy Twitter users don't SEND links in DMs - not even auto-replies to new followers because savvy users know that people shouldn't click on links from ANY automated messages
• Savvy Twitter users will never enter their Twitter login credentials when asked for them through a cheesy DM

Here's a nice, short blog post on How to Prevent Your Twitter Account From Being Hacked

Will Firms Continue to Use Twitter?

This week, one or two firms quickly sent out apology messages. 

Makes me wonder if firms?who, up to this point, are mostly just playing around with Twitter to see how it might be useful to them?will elect to pass on the forum in such a Wild West environment. 

Are attacks like this concerning your firm and limiting your interest in Twitter?