Youtube - Story from Courier Mail Online 11 Oct 2007

The following is from the Courier Mail website

By Darren Osbourne

October 11, 2007 07:59am

REGISTERED users of video-sharing website YouTube have been warned not to open unsolicited emails as phishers expand their net to capture personal details.

IT security and control firm Sophos has detected an increase in the number of "Invite-a-friend" emails, which attempt to lure users into visiting dating websites or offering prizes of the recently released Halo 3 game.

"Normally spammers take over innocent people's PCs to send their unwanted messages across the internet," Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said.

"In this case they don't need to do that - instead they are using a website to relay a message to their intended audience.

"The criminals are hoping that by embedding themselves inside a YouTube email they will be able to slip past spam filters at the recipient's email gateway."

YouTube responded by stating it would shut down any account found to be using their website for unsolicited emails.

"Security is a top concern at YouTube. If we find a party is using our brand or site for the purpose of phishing, we will take action to investigate and prevent this," a YouTube spokesperson said

Mango Comment:
It is still considered safe to use Youtube. It is always wise to be careful with unsolicited emails, and never give personal information over the net unless you are 100% sure of who you are giving it to.