How Twitter Is Helping Fight Spam

Twitter has become a great way for friends and family to keep in touch throughout the day.  It’s become so popular that even celebrities provide daily updates so that they can keep track of each other and connect with their fans.

As is the case with many social networking sites, predators have been trying to capitalize on the weaknesses associated with using Twitter.  Whether someone has created an account for the sole purpose of befriending potential identity theft victims or the profile just pumps out spam, not everything on the popular site is as it seems (read about how scammers are abusing Twitter).

Twitter has decided to take action by adding a “report as spam” feature which can be found under the “Actions” section of a profile’s sidebar.

Once a user has been reported, Twitter’s Trust and Safety team investigates the situation and makes decisions regarding what action, if any, should be taken.  Users who click the “report as spam” button will automatically have the profile blocked from following or replying to them.

I think this is a step in the right direction and, hopefully, will help deter spammers and scammers from using Twitter as a way of hurting others.  It’s important since cybercrime on social networking sites is on the rise.