Jim Lynch: Off the Top of My Head…

Watch out for this if you’re trying to get a Gmail account:

Phishing schemes commonly involve e-mail requests for information that seem to be from trusted sources such as eBay or Citibank. In this case, the scammers send the phishing e-mail to existing holders of Gmail accounts, offering them the opportunity to invite three or six of their friends to join Gmail. The body of the e-mail reads “I found this e-mail very weird.”

It continues to read: “The Gmail Team is proud to announce that we are offering Gmail free invitation packages to the existing Gmail account holders. By now you probably know the key ways in which Gmail differs from traditional webmail services. Searching instead of filing. A free gigabyte of storage. Messages displayed in context as conversations. Just fill in the form below to claim your free invitation package.”

The “Gmail Team” asks users to give away their Gmail addresses and passwords to get the invites.

The e-mails are currently able to make their way through Gmail’s spam filters, but the Gmail fraternity is fighting back by publicizing the con on messageboards and in forums.

For those account holders genuinely given Gmail invites to hand out by Google, a click is all it takes to get a friend onboard. A message saying “You have 6 Gmail invitations. Invite a friend to join Gmail!” appears in the user’s status bar, for example.

It’s late and I’m tired but why would anybody who already has a Gmail account fall for this? Am I missing something here? If you already have an account why would you want an “invitation package?” I think I need to go to bed and get some sleep so I can figure out why somebody would fall for this. :???:

Incidentally I have six gmail invites laying around. If you want one, email me and I’ll invite you.

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