Cyber Experts Warn Of New Phishing Scam Involving Unexpected Google Docs
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/CBS News) -- Cyber experts warn that an email with links to a Google Document shared by people you know might be part of a phishing scam.
As 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported, the latest email scam looks exactly like it is through Google Docs. But cyber security expert Ian Marlow at FITECH advises people to check before they click.
"See the 'to' address – is it to you? And who is the 'from?' Always check to see where it's from. And the third is the salutation," Marlow said.
Many of the emails include an address with a string of lowercase letter H's.
Many of the emails include the address in "hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh@mailinator.com" in the "send to" section.
If you open it, Marlow said you should immediately change your password.
"If you don't, within 24 hours, your information and your access will be sold to other individuals through black-market web boards," he said.
Media outlets seem to be a big target, but it is unclear who is behind the phishing effort.
Google said in a statement sent to CBS News that by late Wednesday afternoon it had disabled accounts associated with the phishing attempt.
"We have taken action to protect users against an email impersonating Google Docs, and have disabled offending accounts," the company said. "We've removed the fake pages, pushed updates through Safe Browsing, and our abuse team is working to prevent this kind of spoofing from happening again. We encourage users to report phishing emails in Gmail."
In an earlier tweet, Google warned users not to click suspect links.
