Is your Twitter Hacked?
Recently I noticed that I was receiving personal Tweets from a friend that looked highly suspicious. Was their Twitter hacked? Here is information on how you can tell if your Twitter is hacked and how to fix it. I forwarded the following information, they changed their password, revoked access to third party apps in their Apps settings that they didn’t recognize and changed the passwords in their trusted third party apps. Voila! No more suspicious Tweets!
Some things that may indicate your Twitter is hacked:
- Unexpected Tweets by your account
- Unintended direct messages (DMs) sent from your account
- Account behaviors you didn’t make or approve (like following, unfollowing, or blocking)
- Received a notification from Twitter stating that “You recently changed the email address associated with your Twitter account.” (even though you haven’t changed your email address)
If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, please take the following steps:
1. Change your password
2. Revoke connections to third-party applications
While logged in, visit Apps in your settings. Revoke access for any third-party application that you don’t recognize.
3. Update your password in your trusted third-party applications
If a trusted external application uses your Twitter password, be sure to update your password in that application. Otherwise, you may be temporarily locked out of your account due to failed login attempts.
Your account should now be secure, and you shouldn’t see the unexpected account behaviors moving forward. If you’re still experiencing issues, please file a Support request for assistance.
Protect your account with simple precautions!
If your account has been compromised, take these additional precautions:
- Delete any unwanted Tweets that were posted while your account was compromised.
- Scan your computers for viruses and malware, especially if unauthorized account behaviors continue to be posted after you’ve changed the password.
- Install security patches for your operating system and applications.
- Always use a strong, new password you don’t use elsewhere and would be difficult to guess.
- Visit Twitter’s Safe Tweeting help page for more information on avoiding hacks and phishing.