03 Jun Twitter’s Latest Problem: Fake Interaction from Bots
Twitter has been on quite a tear over the past several months, deleting fake accounts as they pop up. However, the game of cat and mouse just took a whole new turn.
Check out the image below:
Notice something? Two of the last three of the “favorited” tweets came from spammers. Here are their profiles:
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Legit photos, a profile and then spam tweets. None are legitimate people, but all are systematically trying to fool Twitter into thinking they’re real people.
It’s a great reminder for brands on Twitter to read profiles before they follow someone back. Even in the event that there is a legitimate-looking bio and tweets, it may just mean they’re not spamming you YET. Here’s a tip: If there’s a URL associated with the account (typically a bit.ly URL), be sure to add a “+” symbol to the end of it. Check out this one:
The URL takes you to a site that is clearly spam, and while their traffic driving tactic may not fool you it has fooled 11 people.
The bottom line? It’s time to start getting selective when following someone, and at the very least it may be time to clean up your Twitter stream.
