Gmail Update Account: Phishing Scam Target Users

Other phishing scam that depends on the old "account update" theme is presently spreading, trying to con Gmail users into controlling their username and passwords on December 11, 2012.

As the security backups, we periodically update the entire accounts on our database. We are not capable of updating your email account and so, we will be shutting your account to facilitate the upgrade in the web, as per the bogus notification.

As our records shows that you are presently a user with an activated account, so you have been sent this invitation. We are thus sending you this email so you can notify if you still desire to employ this account."

Users are cautious that if they deny modifying their accounts, they may loose access permanently.

Users who become victim and click the linkage will be forwarded to a fake Gmail login page, which has been formed so that it intimately imitates an actual Gmail page, disclosed by researchers after examining.

Once the login details are submitted, victims would be directed to other bogus pages that will request them to give their phone numbers, and then to yet another fake page, where they are requested to submit login credentials for any unusual email addresses that they might be having.

Once all the desired details are offered, users will be automatically forwarded to the actual Gmail website. Unfortunately, all of the information supplied by them will end with the cyber-criminals, who will utilize it to take control over the real accounts of the webmail that belongs to their victims. The accounts under threats can then be employed to start on more spam and scam campaigns using the name of the victims. The spammers might also employ the phone numbers stolen during the campaign for further despicable activities.

Moreover, this is not the first time during this year (2012) that cyber-criminals have targeted Gmail users. In April 2012, Sophos reported of scam emails that asked for users' passwords while claiming that the recovery email address associated with their (users) Google account has been changed, and if they do not verify it then they might lose their account in its entirety.

Related article: Gmail Users Find E-mails Missing

» SPAMfighter News - 12/21/2012