Twitter Kit, a spammer’s dream come true

Cyber criminals and spammers have been (mis)using Twitter for a long time.

Twitter has tried to stop or at least limit their use of the platform by defining some Web page limitations regarding the amount of messages and updates allowed per day or per hour, and other things like API requests and changes of the account email.

Unfortunately for Twitter, the fight against these spammers is often similar to a game of Whack-A-Mole – it takes a malicious account down, another springs up in its place. Finding a way to bypass the limitations set by the social network is another key to success for these malicious users.

Luckily for them, other criminals are there to help them – for a price. Trend Micro has recently spotted a toolkit being offered for sale on many underground forums.

Dubbed “Twitter Kit”, it allows the malicious user to send messages to thousands of followers using SOCKS5 proxy and to send Follow invites to users and their followers. It also breaks the aforementioned account limits set by the social network.

Trend Micro believes it is mostly used to send out messages with links to pornographic sites, since it is offered as a bonus when one buys a list of 10,000 Twitter users that follow adult content. But, the small price of $20 for the toolkit alone, it can and will be likely used for sending out a variety of malicious messages.