Cyber criminals are sending fake Google Calendar alerts to Gmail users to steal their bank account details.
The new threat, discovered by Check Point this month, has seen around 4,000 Google calendar alerts emailed to Gmail accounts pretending to be from well-known firms.
The email includes a calendar file with a link to Google Forms or Google Drawings.
Another link, often disguised as a reCAPTCHA or support button, then takes the user to a page pretending to be either a bitcoin support page or a cryptocurrency mining landing page.
Here, a user is asked to complete a fake authentication process, enter personal information and then finally payment details.
Hackers can then access the person’s bank account and steal money.
Around 300 company names have been used to fool users. say Check Point.
Google has been made aware of the scam and is advising Gmail users to switch on the ‘known senders’ setting in Google Calendar.
The tech giant said in a statement: ‘This setting helps defend against this type of phishing by alerting the user when they receive an invitation from someone not in their contact list and/or they have not interacted with from their email address in the past.’
Meanwhile, Android users have been warned about a number of malicious apps.
We published a list of 15 that should be deleted immediately if you have them on your phone.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Suicides after domestic abuse are not rare – they are the ‘tip of the iceberg’
MORE: Man in his 30s stabbed to death in north London
MORE: Domestic abuser cleared of killing ex who blamed him in suicide note
