Popular social networking site Twitter has identified a scheme which uses file-sharing websites to access personal user data.

Micro-blogging website Twitter has reported an apparent security threat that used unsecure file-sharing websites to steal user details.

On its blog, Twitter stated that it had discovered a number of compromised file-sharing sites, which share files known as torrents, that had been created with the intention of accessing usernames, email addresses and passwords.

The perpetrators of the alleged scam were able to gain access to this personal user data and use it to sign onto various websites as many internet users use the same details for each website they visit.

By collecting the data from the torrent sites, the scammers were able to access third party websites including Twitter.

Del Harvey, Director of Trust and Safety at Twitter, said: “The takeaway from this is that people are continuing to use the same email address and password (or a variant) on multiple sites.

“Through our discussions with affected users, we’ve discovered a high correlation between folks who have used third party forums and download sites and folks who were on our list of possibly affected accounts.”

The security threat was discovered through Twitter’s ongoing efforts to monitor unusual activity and has now reset the accounts of those affected.