Quechup Spam Network.

I have been examining a pretty broad range of social networking sites recently. I got an apparent invitation from a trusted colleague recently to join something called Quechup, part of a UK company called iDate. The social networking site appears to be legitimate, but they spam your entire Gmail address book, sending out messages that appear to come from you. Lots more about the scam out there, see for example here. Some tech savvy colleagues have already contacted me about this, being naturally suspicious. I don't worry about them, but about my less frequent contacts who may misunderstand its nature.

Social Networking sites, dependent on as many contacts as they can get, naturally may believe that this is a way to get as many people on the roll as possible. It's despicable, of course, and is an attempt to ride on your reputation. Another example of why you should be careful about what you get on the net, even if it's apparently from a known trusted source. Many people are looking to get a ride on your social network.

Gmail, my email provider, also appears to be responsible. They are allowing external parties to scan my address book. I do not think I agreed to that! Should make some folks reconsider Gmail as a secure source for email. Have sent a note to them to see how they are addressing this.

If you get such an 'invitation' from me, I did not send it, delete it. Sorry for being an unwitting part of their spam network. IDate and Quechup.com deserve to be carefully avoided.