A couple of minutes ago I received an email Titled “Important notice – please cooperate.” The email appeared to be sent from Google, as the name in the FROM field read “Google Adwords <AdWords@google.com>”
For some strange reason though, Thunderbird- my default email client, warned that the message might be a SCAM .
Needless to say that I was completely shocked, because I have never known Google to send SCAM messages. As a matter of fact Google, just like many other leading web companies, frowns on SCAM.
But you see, I have come to develop a lot of confidence in Thunderbird, ever since it saved me from making a terrible mistake some years ago.
Now, the body of the message read;
We detected irregular activity on your Google AdWords Account.
Please use the link below to verify your account immediately:
https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=adwords
Sincerley, Google AdWords
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At this point, I was totally confused. This was the first time I had ever received anything like this from Google. I then decided to investigate the matter, albeit cautiously, so I proceeded to click on the link..
What happened next left me completely and utterly stupefied- clicking on the link took me to the following URL, and what I saw there shocked the life out of me.
http://www.google-lg.com/accounts/?ServiceLogin?service=adwords&cd=null&hl=EN<mpl=adwords&passive=false&ifr=false&alwf=true
&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fadwords.google.com%2Fselect%2Fgaiaauth%3Fapt%
3DNone%26ugl%3Dtrue
The landing page for that URL was so similar to the actual Google page, that it was almost impossible to notice any discrepancy at first.
:
At this point, as you can imagine, I didn’t know what to think anymore.
Had it not been for the fact that trusty old Thunderbird warned me about the impending doom, I just might have fallen for this SCAM hook, line and sinker.
A closer look at the URL in the address bar revealed all I needed to know about this fraudulent move. Let’s do a very simple comparison;
First of all, the original Google Adwords login URL;
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Next, the pseudo Google Adwords URL;
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- The first thing you’ll notice is that the domain name “google-lg.com” as seen above is completely different from the “google.com” domain we have all come to be so acquainted with
- Secondly, the original Google Adwords login page at http://adwords.google.com/ is built over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)- basically a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with the SSL/TLS protocol to provide encryption over a secure login interface
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In a bid to try to determine the source of this SCAM, and be absolutely certain of my assertions; I went on to do a whois lookup on the pseudo domain. The results only went to allay my fears;
:
Surprise (not so) Surprise! The domain name was actually created this morning
Have you fallen for a similar scam in the past, or maybe you received the same email I did. Share your thoughts below.
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November 20th, 2009 at 5:33 am
This is was remaining till now. People have started doing scams from Google’s name also. Thanks to Thunderbird that it helped you at right time. I am not using any mail security tool accept that came with antivirus program. I think I’ve to check this out immediately.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Thanks for the comment. It might be a good idea to install an email client. I strongly recommend Thunderbird.
November 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
ohkzz even i got the very same email the next day u got it. I use windows live mail, it sent tghe email to spam. here have a look..
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/c_yxFqmsCSJhdFNnqFYE9w?authkey=Gv1sRgCLXtxI7b1u_ZOw&feat=directlink
This was the first suspicious thing… a multi billion dollar company’s email will not go to spam.. will they?
then second…
when i pointed to th link it showed something else for the destination as you ca see in the image above. They would never do anything liike this..
third…
before i could see what the mater was. my chrome showed me a red page with malwared warning for the sit… now google’s web browser would never ever show a malware warning for its own website. Funny… lol
I had this email registred only with adwords.. now the question arises where they got my email from did google sell it to them [Which they certainly wont] or they hacked google [Which seems impossible especially for something like adwords]. Email was not on public domain but on my own domain i.e my-email@mysite.com.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Hello Achshar.
I believe the multiple complaints arising in the minutes following the distribution of the e-mail had something to do with the red pages you saw.
These guys are relentless. I must give them that. Only this afternoon I got the very same e-mail. This time though the URL points to a new domain;
http://www.google-vl.com/accounts/signin.html
As to whether or not Google sold your E-mail to them, I guess we’d leave that to the “almighty” G themselves to answer. But somehow, I really do doubt it.
Thanks for the comment.
November 24th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Hi I Too, received the SAME email script today (i.e)Tuesday, November 24, 2009 8:29 PM
Subject as: Important notice – please cooperate.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 8:29 PM
From: “Google AdWords” Add sender to Contacts
To: undisclosed-recipients
“We detected irregular activity on your Google AdWords Account.
Please use the link below to verify your account immediately:
https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=adwords
Sincerley, Google AdWords”
November 25th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Hi Tony.
It just goes to show how far some people are willing to go to make a quick buck. It has come to my notice that most people receiving these mails do NOT even have a Google Adwords account.
Thanks for sharing.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
wellll maybe i was an exception because i atchually use adwords..
December 12th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Quick update guys!
I actually received another SCAM mail. You can check it out here-
http://www.dtechweb-blog.com/2009/12/10/another-google-adwords-scam/
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