Time-wasting twits survey scam hits Twitter

A survey scam that supposedly tells marks how much time they have wasted on Twitter spread widely on the micro-blogging site on Tuesday.

Lures to the scam appear as updates in the feed of already compromised users, inviting prospective new victims to click on a link. Victims are invited to allow a rogue application called "Time on Tweeter" access to their Twitter account.

The app then tweets a message onto a Twitter feed, claiming that victims spent 11.6 hours on Twitter, however little or much time they really have logged up on the micro-blogging service before directing victims to a time-wasting survey that earns money for scammers.

The approach is familiar to the wave of survey scam apps that have bedevilled Facebook users for many months but is new to Twitter. Affected users are advised to revoke the application's access to their Twitter account immediately.

A full write-up of the scam, complete with screen-shots, can be found in a blog post by net security firm Sophos here. ®