Home > Effective Communication > Big Business Social Network Scams

Big Business Social Network Scams

June 29th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

image According to this news article, Twitter users have caused an uproar by impersonating celebrities on the popular micro-blogging service. Businesses, too, are targets of fake Twitter profiles — sometimes from competitors.

Exxon Mobil Corp. has found at least two unauthorized Twitter accounts under variations of its name.

Twitter — a networking service where users create profiles and send out short messages, or "tweets" to their followers — terminated one of the profiles last summer. An Exxon spokesman says the oil company is considering what to do about the second profile, which it discovered several weeks ago. The profiles didn’t appear to contain malicious content.

~

Watch this space. I am sure there will be more as  the internet continues to mould the way of life and the unscrupulous find even more clever ways to scam us.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
Categories: Effective Communication Tags:
  • Monika

    I suppose it’s like any other scam, unless it’s officially stated, you can’t claim it’s from the company.

  • http://myshercon.com Gordon Wood

    I have to agree with Monika. Her comment is so perceptive Even though the post was from the WSJ, making news of news can be newsworthy without having to check the facts.

    I wonder if anyone actually rang Exxon Mobil Corp for a comment. That would be what any good journo would do to check the facts. If not cynics may be justified in seeing this is just and increase circulation selling scam.

    Of course by Ralph sending it on and my twitter account picking up the post and broadcasting it top all my followers for the same newsworthiness value has also perpetrated it.

    Oh what a tangled web this is. Excuse the pun

    .

  • Ralph Eastman

    Thanks for the comments Monika and the feedback by Gordon. I just love catching scammers at their own game but sometimes I can get egg on my face in the fun. Well spotted

Array