Phishing attempts on Gmail Accounts
Published on 5 Oct 2007 at 6:17 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under TechTips.
In computing, phishing is a criminal activity where phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay and PayPal are two of the most targeted companies, and online banks are also common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant messaging, and often directs users to give details at a website, although phone contact has been used as well.
- From Wikipedia on Phishing
I received more than three Phishing attempts the past 7 days. They were targetted at getting my Gmail password.
It’s funny because it looked so amateur. Here’s the screenshot of the Gmai phishing attempt, and here’s the text of the email:
G MAI L BETA
VERIFY YOUR FREE G MAI L ACCOUNT NOW !!!Dear G ma il Account Owner,
This message is from Gmail messaging center to all Gmail free account owners and premium account owners. We are currently upgrading our data base and e-mail account center. We are deleting all unused Gmail account to create more space for new accounts.
To prevent your account from closing you will have to update it below so that we will know that it’s a present used account.
CONFIRM YOUR IDENTITY BELOW
Gma il! ID : ……….
Password : ………..
Date of Birth : ……
Country or Territory : ………..Enter the letter from the Security Image : …….. 859304
Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his or her account within Seven days of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.Thank you for using Gmail !
Warning Code:VX2G99AAJ
Thanks,
The Gmail Team
G MAI L BETA
Although I easily identified it as a phishing attempt, I am POSITIVE that so many other Gmail users fell for it.
Result: victims lost access to their Gmail accounts. The phishers got hold of private information in the victim’s gmail accounts. Some information about various accounts (e.g. passwords for online banking, credit card online accounts) may be stored in the Gmail account. That leads to more online accounts hijacked by these phishers. It could go on and on.
I sure hope Gmail can put a stop to this. Here’s one situation where Gmail can *directly* terminate Gmail accounts being used for phishing.
What to do if you receive a similar phishing attack?:
a.) DO NOT REPLY!
b.) Report Phishing.
In Gmail, while reading an email, there’s a “Reply” link at the upper right-hand side of the message. Click the drop down arrow beside the “Reply” link and select “Report Phishing”.
Best protection: Be praning. ‘Ika nga, only the paranoid survive. Here are some tips on how to identify a phishing email.
At ika nga ni … that lloyd guy in the paracetamol commercial … Ingat!
ka edong
nag-i-ingat laang
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ShopShield on 10 Apr 2008 at 12:26 am: 1
Identity theft is certainly a very real thing to deal with and the internet only makes it easier to become a victim. Email phishing scams are everywhere and most people can’t tell the difference between a real site and the fake one. I found this new resource called ShopShield.net. Check it out they protect your identity while you are shopping online.