PHISHING EMAILS GOING ROUND

Zoe Piper 8th April 2008
Zoe Piper

When the first client rang up asking if their Adwords account had been stopped, we forwarded the email onto Google asking if they knew anything. When another client rang a week later, we knew for sure there was some 'phishing' going on.

It Just Looks Wrong

The subject line of the email: Your Adwords Google Account is stoped looks a bit weird in the first place. This may be a little optimistic, but we don't expect emails from Google to contain typos! The rest of the email looks genuine enough, it even contains a link to adwords.google.com.

Unfortunately, this link takes you to an adwrods.google domain. God knows what was here; thankfully google have got wise to it and it's been taken off the web.

We were able to reassure our clients that their accounts are fine, but it did cause a lot of confusion. Some people will have clicked on that link and maybe even given their billing information again, which of course is just what the spammers want.

I'd like to know where they got all the adwords-associated emails from. Answers on a postcard please!

Today's Moral

If you receive a suspicious email, always check that what it's telling you is true. Especially when it comes to your financial information, it's better to be safe than sorry!

ADD YOUR COMMENT

Are you human? (sorry to ask!)
Please answer this question in the box below:

OTHER ARTICLES


THINK TANK
  • How to Reindex Your Website Quickly in a Search Engine
    "I think you are right Paul about reindexing. Effectively, good links are the first step to this goal. I have the same problem with this value site: http://www.referencefatburner.com/"
    Georges Junior
    How to Reindex Your Website Quickly in a Search Engine
    "Let's see if this helps with the problem i have been having. http://www.atomsolutions.org Sorry for spamming site"
    Adam
    Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - No Secrets. No Mystery.
    " Hi everyone, starting, or have a small business? and want more customers? check out http://adwido.com a free site for uploading video ads for your business,they also have image uploads. The more sites you can link to the greater your market will be. They have a free link exchange as well. Don't get left behind, check us out for more info."
    Brian
    What Makes a Good E-Commerce Website?
    "Great Article Zoe"
    Rob Abdul Exommerce Expert
    Why is Content So Central to SEO?
    "I have used this nifty tool before with this current site: http://www.floridamlsconnct.com www.floridamlsconnect.com its great for tracking google ranks, and preparing and testing keywords and meta tag titles. "
    Using the Butterfly Effect
    "This story is a great read, every little bit does help in teh big scheme of things. I have done some updates to: http://www.floridamlsconnect.com www.floridamlsconnect.com and it is taking a while for it to be reindexed. "
    Jon
    How to Reindex Your Website Quickly in a Search Engine
    "I have the same problem with a site I have done updates to a while back: http://www.Floridamlsconnect.com www.floridamlsconnect.com and so far it is taking a bit of time for the site to become reindexed. Hopefully we will find a solution soon. "
    Jon
    How to Reindex Your Website Quickly in a Search Engine
    "Thanks, let me see if this works for me... http://www.joshuahowden.com"
    Charles Howden
    How to Reindex Your Website Quickly in a Search Engine
    "I have the same problem too. I registered a domain http://www.help4shoppers.com about six months back but I did not use it immediately and just left it there because my girlfriend was busy. She plans to use this domain to host her shopping guide and shopping tips forum. Shopping is an obsession of her's and believe me, she's really good at it. I did a site: but google came up empty, so it looks like my domain got de-indexed because I left it empty for too long?"
    JohnnyB
    Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - No Secrets. No Mystery.
    "Hey starting, or have a small business? and want more customers? check out http://adwido.com Its a free site for uploading video ads for your business, they also have image uploads to. They have a free link exchange as well. The more sites you can link to the greater your market will be. Give it a try you wont be disappointed. We will send u in the right direction. "
    Brian

Get in touch

View our portfolio