Notoriously proactive Twitter finally gets around to banning outright scams

Because maybe, possibly, we guess, there should be a policy about that.

Twitter, the tech industry darling notorious for proactively addressing problems, announced today that it's finally making running financial scams on its platform against the rules. In other words, a company founded in 2006 decided in 2019 that straight up crime should be banned on its service.

And yeah, why not. Twitter is a well known home for those looking to defraud oblivious users out of their hard-earned cash or cryptocurrency, and it seems like someone at the company eventually decided that enough was enough.

The question, of course, is why this took so long. We reached out to Twitter in an attempt to answer that very question, but received no immediate response.

"[You] may not use Twitter’s services to deceive others into sending you money or personal financial information via scam tactics, phishing, or otherwise fraudulent or deceptive methods," read the new rules. "Using scam tactics on Twitter to obtain money or private financial information is prohibited under this policy."

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Which, OK, it's great that Twitter finally made crime against the rules. Specifically, "Relationship/trust-building scams," "Money-flipping schemes," "Fraudulent discounts," and "Phishing scams" are all now explicitly prohibited.

We're sure that will solve everything.

The new policy makes it super clear just what type of repercussions those who violate the new policy face. Get ready, because if you're caught phishing some old lady out of her bank login credentials you could have your tweet deleted or your account suspended.

Twitter is providing you, the ever-watchful tweeter, the option to mark others' posts as falling into this grifter realm. Simply select the tweet-specific drop-down menu, and then click "It’s suspicious or spam." Provide a little additional info and, voilà, the internet is safe again.

Why didn't anyone think of this before.

UPDATE: Sept. 23, 2019, 12:08 p.m. PDT: A Twitter spokesperson emphasized over a phone call that while these rules are in fact new, the company had been taking action on financial scams in the past. Today's announcement is an attempt to provide clarity as to why, for example, your scammy posts may keep getting flagged or your scam-pushing account keeps getting locked.