As soon as any website starts to gain attention, it invariably becomes a target for spammers and scammers–people who create faux accounts in order to lure users in to their site, whether it’s for hacking purposes or just to get them to click on an offer. Pinterest, a company which is quickly rising in the ranks of social media, is no exception.
Although it’s not your typical social site–users don’t have to be “friends” with one another to see their photo posts–it has nonetheless been the victim of an influx of spam lately and addressed the issue on their blog:
“In most cases, spam accounts on Pinterest create pins with misleading links and follow many people in hopes that you’ll visit their boards. You don’t need to be concerned if a spam account follows you on Pinterest, but you should definitely feel empowered to let us know about it.”
The blog post goes on to give tips on how to avoid being sucked into the spam web, such as creating a difficult-to-guess password and never clicking on so-called Pinterest giveaways or other promotions.
One user responded to the post with this comment, however, prompting belief that it’s possible users are finding more spam accounts than even Pinterest realized existed:
“OK, that’s fine. But every pin I have clicked his morning has yielded this message: “Users have reported that this links to spam or other inappropriate content.”
The company urges users to report a spam link as soon as it’s found to help them weed out the undesirables and gives step-by-step instructions on how to do it on their blog. If you see a pin that seems shady, don’t be shy about passing it on. The quicker those fake accounts are shut down, the faster you’ll be able to enjoy your regularly scheduled Pinterest programming.
