For the most part, email scams are pretty easy to identify. They’ll almost always be extremely poorly written or just blatantly obvious in their approach.
But as we become more aware of these internet gremlins, so too can they evolve beyond our control, like a nasty bacteria or Bob Katter‘s mental stability.
The latest Gmail phishing scam is one such evolution where even savvy denizens of the interwebs are noting how legitimate it looks. Here’s how it works.
You’ll receive an email that looks like it contains a legitimate attachment from one of your contacts who have already fallen for the scam. The thing is, it’s not an attachment at all, it’s merely an embedded image of what an attachment would look like.
This is the closest I’ve ever come to falling for a Gmail phishing attack. If it hadn’t been for my high-DPI screen making the image fuzzy… pic.twitter.com/MizEWYksBh
— Tom Scott (@tomscott) December 23, 2016
When you click on it, the link will take you to a page that looks just like the normal Gmail sign-in page. If you sign in, you’re boned – the hacker will be able to access, read and download all of your emails.
Symantec‘s senior security response manager, Satnam Narang, says the easiest way to identify this bogus trash is to look at the details of the email.
“The best way to identify this attack is to look at the address bar. In this case, look for the words ‘data:/text/html’ at the beginning of the URL,” he said. “If you see this, close the browser tab and alert your friend that their account has been compromised.”
He also reckons you should setup two-step verification on your account and always make sure your password is strong as shit.
Stay safe online, friends. Don’t let this become an internet superbug.
Source: Refinery 29.
Photo: Imgur / Sickchirpse.
