Snapchat hack spams users with smoothie photos
Members of the photo-sharing site say they're getting spam pictures of fruit smoothies. What's behind this juicy story?
Snapchat is combating yet another security issue, and it's a juicy one.
In a story posted late Tuesday, Wired editor Joe Brown said his Snapchat friends were asking why he was sending them messages with photos of fruit smoothies. That was a surprise to Brown because he hadn't sent any such messages. Other Snapchatters have since complained about receiving these same messages, according to a Twitter search.
The messages serve up a URL for a company called Snapfroot, which then redirects the recipient to an AllRecipes.com page for a "Berry Delicious" smoothie. The spam outbreak so far seems innocuous, albeit annoying, but it does point to yet another vulnerability for the photo-sharing site.
Snapchat told Brown that these messages have been bouncing around the past couple of days.
"It's mostly cases where someone has your e-mail address and password and gets in on the first try," an anonymous Snapchat spokesperson told Wired. "We're not seeing any evidence of brute-force tactics."
Snapchat is trying to plug the leak. In the meantime, site users may want to change their passwords. The spokesperson also advised people to stay away from third-party apps that ask for your Snapchat username and password.
"Yesterday a small number of our users experienced a spam incident where unwanted photos were sent from their accounts," a Snapchat representative told CNET. "Our security team deployed additional measures to secure accounts. We recommend using unique and strong passwords to prevent abuse."
Updated 10:50 a.m PT: with statement from Snapchat.