Research presented by BitDefender at the recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Spam Conference claimed that hackers are creating fake profiles and bots to send spam messages through social networking platforms.
The group pointed out that social gaming users often use groups, fan pages and communication channels to increase their online interaction and cooperation - a fact which spammers are eager to exploit.
George Petre, BitDefender threat intelligence team leader, explained: 'Users are more likely to accept spammers in their friends list when they are in a social network than in any other online communication environment.'
The research also claimed that spammers are developing more realistic social network profiles, such as including plenty of information and pictures, to trick people into trusting them.
Recent research by Webroot found that 81 per cent of social network users allow anyone who is part of their network to view their recent activities, while over a quarter have not changed the default privacy settings.
The group pointed out that social gaming users often use groups, fan pages and communication channels to increase their online interaction and cooperation - a fact which spammers are eager to exploit.
George Petre, BitDefender threat intelligence team leader, explained: 'Users are more likely to accept spammers in their friends list when they are in a social network than in any other online communication environment.'
The research also claimed that spammers are developing more realistic social network profiles, such as including plenty of information and pictures, to trick people into trusting them.
Recent research by Webroot found that 81 per cent of social network users allow anyone who is part of their network to view their recent activities, while over a quarter have not changed the default privacy settings.
