Gmail virus? Not exactly: A disturbing “phishing” scam began spreading online on Wednesday in an attempt to access Google accounts via an email message that has a fake Google Docs file attached.
This does not mean that you will be infected with the “destructive” virus as we read on major Greek websites as soon as you open the email. Of course, you should not fall for the trap and open a link, or an attached file, as we often report on this website.
The scam seems to be more convincing than most, as the link it contains takes users to a legitimate Google login screen to grant permissions. So it's no surprise that we're seeing widespread reports of the hacking attempt on many social media platforms like Twitter.
What happens if you open the Google phishing link?
Clicking on the file contained will take you to an actual Google login page, where you will be asked to select an account to continue. If you grant permissions on the next screen, your email will start sending messages to all your contacts, and the cycle continues.
The email with the Google Doc comes from a 'Mailinator' address. What is this?
Mailinator is an online email address service that allows users to access emails on the Mailinator website without having to have an account.
One of the main advantages of using this service is that there is no connection to the user's actual email address, making it difficult to track any emails sent by Mailinator.
What should I do if I open the phishing email with the Google Doc?
As with any hacking incident, you'll want to change your passwords immediately to secure any sensitive personal information. Google is working to fix the issue, according to a statement released via tweets:
Google's official statement regarding the phishing email:
We have taken action to protect users from an email that resembles Google Docs and have disabled the affected accounts. We have removed the fake pages, pushed updates through Safe Browsing.
We are working to prevent this type of spoofing from happening again. We encourage users to report phishing emails to Gmail.
