IMPORTANT. Twitter “Porn Names” scam. Don’t share yours.
By Zee on May 12, 2009
This may be the cleverest/silliest Twitter scam yet. High up on Twitters current ‘trending’ topics list is #TwitterPornNames and as PCWorld points out, “what larger hole to patch than that of human error itself”.
The hashtag meme requests that users type in their “Twitter Porn Name” which is a combination of your first pet and the street your grew up on OR your mothers maiden name. All three of these are perfect candidates for security questions on most online accounts – don’t get involved.
If you have revealed any of these, change your questions immediately.
Based in London, Zee is Editor in Chief of The Next Web.Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
It’s surprising how many people are still susceptible to social engineering attacks like this. More education on this kind of thing is needed – people are a lot more aware of phishing these days, for example, so widespread information can work. (The trick, of course, is doing this while not making the Internet seem like a terrifying hotbed of scammers and criminals.)
Smart move, got to have some respect for the guys or girls behind this scam. I never like these secret questions, it’s just not a safe measure. I always fill in crap by bashing the buttons of my keyboard, just to make sure no one can guess it.
Hackers suck but I must admit I admire the ingenuity of these people and this particular scam. Brilliant…
Wow, paranoia to new levels. a) I’ve never seen Street names or Pet names used as security questions in over 17yrs online IT work. Mother’s maiden, yes, but that’s not part of the fun. b) If you DO use these things as passwords, security answers, then you’d be pretty damn stupid to start typing them out anywhere, I hate to say people deserve to have ID stolen, but if you’re going to be that daft, then maybe you do.
PornStarNames is a laugh that’s been doing therounds since long before the internet, just because it made it to Twitter, no need to think it’s some great social engineering scam, it’s not.
Often “city you were born” is asked. If it’s a popular street name, the city is easily derived from that. For Pet names, one of Paypal’s selection of security questions is “favorite pet name” – that usually turns out to be the name of your first pet.
I agree, a sensible level of caution is always warranted, but this is stretching it.
I at least am comfortable proclaiming my PornStarName as ‘Meat Magill’, safe in the knowledge that it bears no relation whatsoever to any password or security question answer I’ve ever entered anywhere.
Have to agree with you there. Many times those security questions give you the option to create your own question anyway, which is probably the safest alternative in the first place. But whatever question/answer combo you choose, publicly spreading it is just lack of common sense. Why not just post your password and save the hacker the trouble?
And I definitely agree that this porn name thing being tauted as a scam is a bit much. I’ve heard this game countless times before ever seeing it on the Internet, let alone Twitter. But even if it is a true scam, the above still applies. Don’t be stupid about private information and it’ll be much safer.
You don’t get out much do you.
They are so many ways to improve/secure common security answers, so this is only dangerous if the user who provides this information to the Twitter “Porn Names” lacks internet inexperience in my opinion.
Taking a phrase from @Cindy Otty, why don’t just post the password and save the hacker the trouble?
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