CAUTION: Keep Your Twitter Account Secure With These 5 Essential Steps

Has your Twitter account ever been hacked?

Mine has... and it sucks!

I don't want it to happen to you -- so I put together 5 essential steps for how to keep your Twitter account secure.

Almost everyone gets hacked at one time or another. It's a fact of life on Twitter!

For example, people are always trying to access my account. I get tons of fake emails -- all asking me to reset my password or give it out.

There's nothing worse than working your butt off to build a following on Twitter then getting locked out of your account because it got hacked!

So here are 5 essential steps for keeping your Twitter account secure.

CAUTION: Keep Your Twitter Account Secure With These 5 Essential Steps

1. Create Strong Passwords

Here are some password tips from Twitter:

• Create a password that's at least 10 characters long
• Use a mix of numerals, symbols & upper case & lower case letters
• Use a different password for each website & email
• Keep your password in a secure place
• Use a password management tool to keep passwords secure

I use 1Password for storage & to generate new passwords.

2. Use Login Verification

Don't just rely on your password!

Twitter provides 2-step verification to make sure only you access your account.

>> Click to Tweet <<

When you log in, Twitter can send a notice like this to your mobile phone:

You must enter the correct verification code to access your Twitter account. Use your Security settings on Twitter to activate the verification requests.

3. Watch Out for Phishing

Scammers will try to access your private information using tweets, emails & direct messages on Twitter -- a practice known as "phishing".

They may tell you your Twitter account's been hacked & instruct you to change your password immediately.

They might claim that you've won a contest & all you need to do to claim your prize is log in to your Twitter account.

Don't fall for these tricks! Don't EVER give out your Twitter password.

>> Click to Tweet <<

These are all signs that someone is trying to hack your account.

I once received an email from someone claiming he worked for Twitter & needed to verify my account. He asked for my password. I didn't fall for the ruse!

And this tweet came in a few days ago. I'm sure they would have asked for my password at some point.

4. Be Wary of 3rd-Party Apps & Websites

Do you plan to use your Twitter account to register for 3rd-party websites or apps?

Be careful!

Doing so gives the apps limited access to your Twitter account.

So beware!... and if you experience anything sketchy, immediately remove the app from your account.

5. Protect Your Phone

One of the best ways to keep all your social media accounts secure is simply locking your smartphone with a password.

>> Click to Tweet <<

That way nobody can access your accounts if your phone gets lost or stolen.

Summary

In this post, I highlighted these 5 steps for how to keep your Twitter account secure:

1. Create Strong Passwords
2. Use Login Verifications
3. Watch Out for Phishing
4. Be Wary of 3rd-Party Apps & Websites
5. Protect Your Phone

Please do yourself a favor and follow these 5 steps!

And if your Twitter account has ever been hacked, please leave a comment below and tell us what happened.