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 How the Scam Works:
You receive an email that appears to be a message about your Google
or Gmail account. One version of this scam informs you that "You
have exceeded your email limit quota." Another tells you that "you
have a deferred email." The text is hyperlinked in both, implying
that you should click for more information. Don't do it!
Clicking on the link will download malware to your computer. Once on
your machine, it can hunt through your files for personal and
banking information. This opens you up to the possibility of ID
theft.
These scam emails are particularly tricky because they look so real.
They have details like Google's address in the footer. One version
actually has a link to "unsubscribe" and "change my notification
settings." Be sure not to click these links because they also may
contain malware.
How to Spot a Scam Email:
1. Check out the "From" field: Scammers have the ability to
mask email addresses, making the message appear to come from a
legitimate source. But they don't always use it. In this scam, the
"Google" emails aren't actually from a @google.com address.
2. Watch for typos, strange phrasing and bad grammar.
Scammers can easily copy a brand's logo and email format, but
awkward wording and poor grammar are typically a give away that the
message is a scam. In the example above, the phrases "limit quota"
and "deferred email" are a sign that something's not right.
3. Hover over URLs to reveal their true destination.
Typically, the hyperlinked text will say one thing, but the link
will point somewhere else. Scammers either set up fake websites or
hack into third-party sites and use them to host malware.
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4. Watch for look alike URLs. Be wary of sites that have the
brand name as a subdomain of another URL (i.e.
brandname.scamwebsite.com) or part of a longer URL (i.e. companyname
customersupport.com).
ABOUT BBB:
For 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping consumers
find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2012,
consumers turned to BBB more than 100 million times for Business
Reviews on more than 4 million companies and Charity Reports on
11,000 charities, all available for free at www.bbb.org. The Council
of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for 114
local, independent BBB's across the United States and Canada, as
well as home to its national programs on dispute resolution and
industry self-regulation.
[Alyssa Hoerr, Better Business
Bureau]
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