This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube video titled "Beware of Twitter Verification Scams" — an English news segment from WCBB NewsCenter 5 (reported by Matt Reed with co-anchor Jessica) recorded on 2022-11-22. The anchors discuss recent turmoil at Twitter following Elon Musk’s takeover, a public exchange with Senator Ed Markey, the pause of the $8 blue-check subscription amid a surge of fake accounts, and relay security expert Robert Siciliano’s advice for users on spotting phony accounts and avoiding verification-related scams.
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Yeah, Jessica, it absolutely is. Elon Musk continues to grab the headlines, this time tangling on Twitter with Senator Ed Markey, who's threatened to crack down on Musk's companies.
I'd like to say it's funny, but it's really more disturbing than anything else.
It's been a dizzying 2 weeks for security expert Robert Siciliano and all of us watching the turmoil at Twitter since Elon Musk's takeover. The latest incident happening over the weekend when the billionaire exchanged tweets with Senator Ed Markey, who demanded answers after a Washington Post reporter made a fake Markey account that Twitter verified. Musk writing, perhaps it's because your real account sounds like a parody, with Markey responding, one of your companies is under FTC consent decree, auto safety watchdog is investigating another for killing people, and you're spending your time picking fights online? Fix your companies or Congress will.
I like the idea of legislators giving Twitter a hard time due to the fact that Elon Musk is simply making a mess of things.
Twitter paused its recently announced $8 blue checkmark subscription service on Friday Friday as fake accounts exploded on the site. But while Musk and potentially Congress look at changes for the social media company, Siciliano has advice for Twitter users to identify phony accounts. Look at the number of Twitter followers. If they have followers in the tens or hundreds of thousands, they're more likely to be legit. Always verify what you're seeing in a tweet. Do a quick Google search and see if the information is being referenced in a news article. And finally, don't respond to any accounts emails or texts asking you to verify your account, as scammers are trying to use this confusion on Twitter to steal your information.
You know, if Musk just kind of went back to the way things were, just stop the nonsense, uh, then it would all calm down.
And The Washington Post also reports there's a number of congressional committees that could investigate Musk and ask him to testify. Among those, the Senate Commerce Committee, which Senator Ed Markey sits on. Reporting live in Boston, Matt Reed, WCBB NewsCenter 5.
