As the world becomes more interconnected and reliant in this modern era, the cyberattacks are surging rapidly. Apart from hacking social media handles and committing online frauds, these hackers are now targeting Gmail account holders. They are practicing such crimes using ‘super realistic AI scam’ calls and messages, which can even trick the most experienced digital users.
There are more than 2.5 billion Gmail users as per Google’s figures. It’s no surprise that these hackers are targeting Google’s popular platform in an increasingly sophisticated manner.
What Happened with Microsoft Solutions Consultant?
Sam Mitrovic, a Microsoft solutions consultant, explained this scam in one of his recent blogs while sharing about his personal encounter with such an incident. He shared that it all started with receiving a notification asking him to approve a Gmail account recovery attempt. This is a common phishing technique to scam a user by asking for a fake login. Mitrovic didn’t fall for it and denied the request. Around 40 minutes later, he received another notification, stating that he missed a call claiming to be from Google Sydney.
A week later, similar stance happened to him again. He denied the login, and after 40 minutes, he received a call. This time Mitrovic picked up the call. A man claiming to be from Google support was on the line. The man confirmed that there was a suspicious activity, which he might witness on his account. He claimed that his Gmail account has been attacked, and the hacker had access to his account for a week and copied all his personal data.
Meanwhile, the incident raised alarming bells for Mitrovic as he remembered the notification he received asking for a login a week before. Being skeptical and aware about such scams, the Microsoft solutions consultant looked into the mobile number from which he received that strange call. He then asked for an email to be sent to him to confirm whether he was a real Google Support representative or not. However, it was all shocking after Mitrovic received a mail in his inbox. The email that seemed to be one of such addresses was a tactic. It was cleverly disguised and received from a non-Google domain.
Marking the incident, Mitrovic said, “The scams are getting increasingly sophisticated and more convincing and are deployed at an ever-larger scale. While people are busy, this scam sounded and looked legitimate, and many people are likely to fall for it.”
Does Google Really Take Care of User Security?
Well, it’s no wonder that Google really does take care of user security seriously. It encompasses a variety of measures to ensure user security and privacy – the leading encryption technologies like HTTPS and Transport Layer Security, multi-factor authentication (MFA), security alerts, cloud security, blocking malicious ads, etc.
These measures used by Google for its user platforms are collectively helpful in maintaining high-level security for its users. It also ensures that their data and privacy are well protected.
Meanwhile, as per Davey Winder, a United Kingdom-based cybersecurity journalist, with the surge of active users, Gmail accounts are now among the main targets for the hackers. These hackers can even bypass the two-factor authentication and security confirmations.
Surprisingly, there’s one simple defensive approach one can take to protect their email accounts from getting hacked. In order to protect themselves from such attacks, one should implement this approach now before it is too late for them.
Here are the steps, in case you fall victim to a 2FA-bypass Gmail attack:
Open a Second Gmail Account to Back Up Your Email Data
Imagine, out of the loop, you landed into a serious conflict: your Google account has been hacked, and now all your data is locked out of your access. For many users, this would be the biggest nightmare that can ever happen. As the evolving cookie-stealing techniques to bypass 2FA protections are surging. The cybercrime agencies have urged all users to protect their accounts using 2FA, wherever it is available as an option.
While Google has also provided the users with secure passkey sign-in access across devices and safe browsing options, the by-pass tools can still access it.
How to Create a Second Gmail Account
However, creating a second Gmail account can be helpful to prevent these 2FA-bypass cyberattacks.
Setting up multiple accounts is generally easy with Google’s free Gmail platforms.
All you have to do is:
- Sign out of Your Google Account
- Go to the Google-Account Sign-in Page.
- Click on Create Account.
To ensure your second account is secure, you can use a passcode tied to a different device instead of using 2FA via a generating app rather than SMS to the same phone number.
Once you are done with creating your second Gmail account, then go to the original account settings and set up a forwarding rule that sends a copy of all emails to the second account. By doing these sensible actions, you will have a backup account. In case someone did try to hack your original account, then it will forward your email to your second account.
Using Google’s Advanced Protection Program
Another useful approach to protecting and securing your Gmail is to sign-in your accounts to Google’s advanced protection program. This makes it harder for anyone to hack your account. This step provides additional layers of security to the user.
This program is designed to protect the Google accounts against targeted online attacks. It involves various high-security policies to protect the user accounts. The advanced protection program security policies are:
- Strong authentication with security keys
- Use of security codes with security keys
- Restriction on third party access to account data
- Deep Gmail scans
- Google Safe browsing in Chrome
- Account recovery through admin.
Steps to Sign Up to the Advanced Protection Program
- Visit the APP Start Page and tap on Get Started.
- Verify your identity by using your existing passcode.
- Add a recovery phone number that you trust and can be verified.
- Add a recovery address that you trust and can be verified.
- Hit the enrollment button.
Google Security Checkup, Step-by-Step for Gmail Users
Having a look at the Google Security Checkup is also a must step to ensure user safety. This step provides the user a quick view of the urgency that is needed to enable your account security.
In this very first example, the first and foremost step is to turn on your browsing protections.
You might come across the potential security issues while scrolling through the Google Safety Check-up. Expand all the recommendations and follow all the instructions for your account safety.
In the devices section, it will display the list of your Google accounts that have been logged into. These are helpful for the user to alert you anytime if something is out of the place.
Kanishka Malhotra is a seasoned journalist with a deep passion for reporting and uncovering the truth. With a specialization in research and investigative Journalism, she has covered wide range of topics related to social issues, travel, lifestyle, technology, Entertainment and much more. She believes to express and share her creativity to the world through words. With relentless pursuit of knowing and uncovering the truth, Kanishka continues to leave a mark in the world of journalism.
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