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;
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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 7th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Nice information, many thanks to the author. It is incomprehensible to me now, but in general, the usefulness and significance is overwhelming. Thanks again and good luck!
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/