Google's Critical Security Alert is a useful security feature that notifies you every time a new device is used to log into your account. It may ... YourIP:Unknown·ISP:Unknown·YourStatus:ProtectedUnprotectedUnknown Blog ⁄ How-To ⁄ HowtorecognizetheGoogleCriticalSecurityAlertscam Hackershaveonceagainfoundawaytoexploitasecurityfeatureyoutrust.TheGoogleCriticalSecurityAlertdesignedtowarnusersaboutpotentiallyunauthorizedaccesshasbeenturnedintoaphishingscam.Findouthowhackersareusingthisfeaturetotheiradvantageandwhattodoifyoureceivesuchanemail. EmilyGreen Aug29,2019 · 4minread Facebook Twitter Copylink HowdoestheGoogleCriticalSecurityAlertscamlook?Google’sCriticalSecurityAlertisausefulsecurityfeaturethatnotifiesyoueverytimeanewdeviceisusedtologintoyouraccount.Itmaybeyou,oritmaybeaperpetrator.Eitherway,youwillreceiveanemailfromGoogledouble-checkingwhethertheloginwasintended.Ifitwasn’tyou,youshouldimmediatelycheckyourGmailaccountforanysuspiciousactivity.Manyusersreceivethesewarningsafterbuyinganewdevice,signinginfromtheirworkcomputer,orwhenbrowsingbehindaproxyoraVPNserver.ThelatterwillchangeyourIPaddress;therefore,Googlewillidentifyyourconnectionascomingfromanewdevice. Relatedarticles How-To·4minread HowtodeleteGoogleVoicesearchhistory ByDanielMarkuson·Apr26,2018 News·3minread WhatistheGoogleDocsphishingscam? ByZenBahar·May04,2021 However,hackerswouldn’tbehackersiftheywouldn’tfindwaystoexploitatrustworthysecurityfeatureandturnitintoaphishingattack.GmailusershavebeenreportingphishingemailsthatseemedtobecomingfromGoogle.Theyusuallypresentoneofthesetwoscenarios:Theemailnotifiesusersofanewattemptedsign-in,claimsthatGoogleblockedtheattempt,andaskstheusertochecktheiractivity.However,thebuttonthatwouldnormallyleadtoyourGooglesecuritypagehereisspoofed.Itleadstoamaliciouswebsiteordownloadsmalwaredirectlyontoyourdevice;Theemailnotifiesusersofunauthorizedaccessandasksthemtoresettheirpasswordimmediately.Inthisscenario,thebuttontoresetyourpasswordleadstoaspoofedwebsitethatlooksverysimilartoalegitimateGoogleloginpage.However,ifauserenterstheirdetailshere,they’resentdirectlytothehacker.WhattodoifyoureceivedaGoogleCriticalSecurityAlertemailAskyourselfwhetheritmightbelegitimate.Areyouusinganewdevice?Didyouuseanewdeviceatworkorborrowafriend’sdevicetologin?OrmaybeyourVPNlaunchedautomatically,andGooglerecognizesanewIPaddress?Ifso,theemailmightbealegitimatefalsealarm.Checkwhothesenderis.DidtheemailcomefromalegitimateGoogleaccount?Hoveroverthesenderbutdon’tclickonitorreplytotheemail.Checkthequalityofthetext.Doesithaveanygrammaticalerrors?Whataboutthewritingstyle?IsitformalenoughtopassforGoogle?Legitimatecompaniesusuallypainstakinglyproofreademailstheysendtousers.Ifyouspotanymistakes,it’sagoodindicationthatit’saphishingemail.Neverclickonanylinksorbuttonsordownloadanyfiles.Don’tgiveintotemptation,eveniftheemail‘urges’youtodoso.Whetherornottheemailislegitimate,youcansafelycheckyouraccountactivitybygoingtoyourGoogleaccountsecuritycheckuppage.Here,youcanseewhatdevicesandhowmanyofthemarecurrentlysignedin,checkrecentsecurityevents,andseewhichthird-partyappshaveaccesstoyouraccount.Checkallthesetabsforsuspiciousactivity.Ifyoucan’tseeanything,itwaslikelyaphishingscam.Ifyouwentthroughthestepsaboveandaresurethatthealertwaslegitimate,changeyourpasswordsimmediately.Also,readthesetipstocheckforsuspiciousactivityandwhatelseneedstobedonetoreclaimyouraccount.WhatifyoufellfortheGoogleCriticalSecurityAlertscam?Ifyouclickedonanylinks,downloadedattachedfiles,orenteredyourdetailsonaspoofedwebsite,youmaybeintrouble.Thismeansthathackersmayalreadyhaveyourpasswordorhaveinstalledmalicioussoftwareontoyourdevice.It'stimetoactfast.Hackersmaynowbeableto:Takescreenshotsofyourdesktop;Stealpasswordsyousavedonyourdriveoryourwebbrowser;Steal,amendordeleteyourfiles;Downloadmoremalwareoradwareontoyourdevice;Installcopiesofthesamemalwareandrunitinsecret,especiallyifyoumanagedtospotitandmanuallydeleteit.Here'swhatyoushoulddonextifyouhaveasuspicionthatsomeonemighthaveaccessedyourpersonalinformationorgotintoyourdevice:Makestrongerpasswords.DeletethemfromyourbrowseranduseapasswordmanagerlikeNordPassinstead;Locatethemalwareandmanuallydeleteit.Thismayrequiresometechnicalknow-how.Ifyouarenotcomfortabledoingthis,tryathird-partymalwaredetection/antivirusprogramorspeaktoaprofessionalandletthemtakecareofit.It’stimetotakeyouronlinesecuritytothenextlevel.YoucandothisbyinvestinginaVPN.Notonlywillyouronlinetrafficbewrappedinlayersofpowerfulencryption,butyourlocationandIPaddresswillalsobehidden.NordVPN’sCyberSecsuiteisyourperfectdefenseagainstmalvertisingandphishingattacks.CyberSechasamassivedatabaseofblacklistedsites.Ifyou’reabouttovisitapagethatisnotoriousforhostingmalicioussoftwareandmalware,CyberSecwillkickinandblockyouraccess.Whywaitforanattacktohappen?BeproactivewithyouronlinesecurityandsubscribetoNordVPN.Wanttoreadmorelikethis?GetthelatestnewsandtipsfromNordVPNSubscribeSubscribeYou'vesuccessfullysubscribedtoournewsletter!EmailisinvalidSubscribeWewon'tspamandyouwillalwaysbeabletounsubscribe Facebook Twitter Copylink EmilyGreen Verifiedauthor EmilyGreenisacontentwriterwholovestoinvestigatethelatestinternetprivacyandsecuritynews.ShethrivesonlookingforsolutionstoproblemsandsharingherknowledgewithNordVPNreadersandcustomers. 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