Twitter becoming a tool for scams, bureau says

By Tiffany Hsu July 7, 2009

Online predators have hit on social media site Twitter as the latest tool to lure victims into get-rich-quick and work-at-home schemes, according to the Better Business Bureau. After tracking years of scams involving e-mail and Google, the bureau is seeing a surge in the number of companies claiming to help people turn Twitter into a virtual ATM with little effort and no risk, said spokeswoman Alison Southwick. "Twitter is the cool thing, the bright, shiny object," she said Monday. "It's unbelievable how widespread this is. And with so many people vulnerable and looking for jobs, a scheme like this is going to have people falling for it when they can least afford to." The messaging site allows participants to post, or "tweet," short updates that subscribers, or "followers," can read. Recent schemes involve companies promising to pay Twitter users hundreds of dollars a day to tweet after they sign up for a free training kit, which the bureau said ends up sucking away a hefty monthly payment.

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