Comments on: IMPORTANT. Twitter “Porn Names” scam. Don’t share yours.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:22:47 +0000

You don’t get out much do you.

By: A Tweeters Guide to Twitter Scams | Freelancing and Outsourcing Tips, Commentary, Analysis, and News from oDesk

Wed, 20 May 2009 23:29:36 +0000

[...] me your security question answers: This was an excellent example of social engineering. The recent twitter porn names scam was simply a hashtag trend started inviting people to create a twitter porn name by adding various [...]

By: » 25 Twitter apps to manage multiple accounts… but don’t forget about the security factor The Red Rocket: Technology, PR and social media marketing

Tue, 19 May 2009 10:10:13 +0000

[...] the number of Twitter scams continues to rise (the twitter porn names scam springs to mind for making unsuspecting people give up their personal details), along with the [...]

By: David

David — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:13:09 +0000

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?

By: Cyndy Otty

Cyndy Otty — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:15:07 +0000

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.

By: Gomisan

Gomisan — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:39:31 +0000

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.

By: Zee

Zee — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:28:40 +0000

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.

By: Gomisan

Gomisan — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:23:44 +0000

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.

By: Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten

Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:14:18 +0000

Hackers suck but I must admit I admire the ingenuity of these people and this particular scam. Brilliant…

By: Frank Herrman

Frank Herrman — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:10:56 +0000

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.