Twitter users warned to change passwords

It might seem like another one of those “phishing” scams, but if you get an email from Twitter telling you to change your password, there’s a good chance it’s legitimate.

The company confirms it has sent messages to a number of users advising them to change their passwords, after hackers compromised a number of accounts, even striking sites like Mashable and TechCrunch. The hackers have been tweeting commercial messages and other spam on the compromised account.

“Users who received emails from Twitter to reset their password should follow the links in the email to do so,” a Twitter spokesperson told The Inquirer. “Alternatively, they can go to Twitter.com and change their password in Settings.”

The company warns users that Twitter suspects that their account has been compromised by a website or third party with which it has no affiliation.

Experts say even if you haven’t received an email from Twitter, it’s a good idea to go ahead and change your password anyway.