“Free iPad” scam sweeps social networking sites

Facebook and Twitter have yet another privacy issue to worry about, thanks to a few bad Apples.

Users are being warned of an iPad scam that not only corrupts a user’s account, but also sends messages to that user’s friends and followers advertising free iPads.

“If you’ve received a message promising you a new iPad, not only is there no iPad, but also your friends have been hacked,” Twitter announced Wednesday.

Although the scam has not affected as many Facebook users as Twitter users, Simon Axten, a spokesman for Facebook, told Reuters in an e-mail that Facebook is still taking the threat seriously.

The scam message offering the free iPad typically includes a link to another website that is designed to obtain personal information from a user’s computer.

Mashable reported this morning that the message, on both Facebook and Twitter, usually resembles this: “u have to check out this website its glitchin right now and sending out ipads to everyone for free!”

While Facebook and Twitter work to stem the scams, users will have to be a little more careful, and figure out how to get a free iPad some other way.