Back in 2009, I presented and article 4 Steps to Get Rid of Twitter Spam, which had a great response.
Here is a follow-up piece that goes into more details about how to nix all possible sources of Twitter spam.
Check the Twitter Status Blog
The Twitter Status Blog is the official Twitter source about streaming outages, service issues and spam issues.
Any time that you experience a problem with Twitter, it is a good idea to check whether your problem is being experienced by other users and whether Twitter is currently addressing it.
A common possible source of Twitter spam (no matter whether you’re producing it or receiving it), it is the product of having clicked on a malicious link. Twitter often warns you of malicious links circulating around the Twittersphere.
You can find the Twitter Status Blog at http://status.twitter.com.
Check Who Has Access to your Twitter Account
Some application developers request access to your Twitter account in order for their applications (e.g. Pandora, LinkedIn) to work.
However, sometimes you may grant access to your Twitter account to malicious developers that will abuse this permission and start spamming your followers with DMs about “how to make $500 with Google”.
Check who has access to your account in 4 steps:
Step 1: Login to your Twitter account at http://twitter.com/login
Step 2: Go to your account’s settings at http://twitter.com/settings/account
Step 3: Click on Connections and go through the list of applications that have been granted access to your account. If you see an unusual one, revoke the granted access.
Step 4: Change your password. It’s a pain but if your account has been compromised, it’s a good idea to do it.
Report Suspicious Accounts
Keep the Twitterverse spam-free by being be on the lookout for accounts that look like this:
The spammer is using several dummy accounts to spread the same message.
Twitter recommends that if you think you’ve found a spam profile, follow these steps to report it to them:
- Visit the Spammer account’s profile
- Click the Drop-Down actions menu box (see image below)
- Click on “Report @username for spam.”
Alternatively, you can just send a tweet directly to @spam (Spam Watch at Twitter HQ) including the handle of the spammer and his spammy message. Make sure not to include the Twitter handles of real Twitter users or @spam might think they are spammers as well.
Follow the official Spam Watch at http://www.twitter.com/spam.
Takeaway
By checking the Twitter Status Blog when an issue comes up, keeping tabs on what applications have access to your Twitter account, and reporting spammers, you should be able to nix Twitter spam.
