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QI host Stephen Fry falls for Twitter scam

Twitter members are being targeted by cyber crooks who have launched a series of attacks on the network designed to expose members to online threats and steal their account details.

Messages with fake invitations urging members to check out how their 'friends' won a new iPhone by clicking on a provided link are arriving in members' inboxes, according to online security firm Sophos.

Twitter has famous members such as QI host Stephen Fry, who admitted via a message he may have been exposed to phishing after clicking one of the fake emails, despite not needing a new iPhone.

"It would be bad enough to hand your Twitter username and password over to a criminal, as they could pose as you online and spread malware and spam to your friends and followers," says senior technology consultant Graham Cluley.

"However, if their accounts were ever compromised the spammers would believe that they have hit the mother lode."

The cyber attacks have prompted Twitter to add a warning to the site calling on members to be wary of the phishing attacks.

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