'Gmail' storage upgrade phishing mail steals user logins and passwords

A new phishing mail from ‘Gmail’ has popped up on the Internet asking users to upgrade their account storage because their quota has been exhausted. A closer look will show that it’s actually a phishing e-mail and not a genuine one. We received this e-mail last night, and a quick glance at our Gmail storage did show that data storage was quite close to its limit. Also, the e-mail first arrived in our inbox and not in the spam folder. Here’s a closer look at what happened next. 

Billgates@microsoft.com has run out of space!..on Gmail!?

Titled ‘Google Account Storage Quota Exhausted on ******@gmail.com’, the e-mail may look genuine to most users, initially. The mail is sent by no_reply@qmail.com and at first, it’s difficult to actually notice the difference in the alphabets because the name shows Accounts Support with the actual e-mail in brackets, like any other standard mail you’ll get in your Gmail inbox. Here’s a screenshot of what’s written in the email:

Might fool some unsuspecting users

For an unsuspecting user, this mail does look creepily close to a genuine mail by Gmail, but if you’ll hover over that link and look at the bottom left you’ll get to see the REAL URL, which is servicessc.----.acconutx.net (Obviously, we’re not putting up the entire URL!) It takes you to a page that looks quite identical to Google (the minute giveaway being the slightly warped Gmail icon) that asks you to choose your ‘Free’ storage option and enter your password. Thereafter, the site simply mentions that your account has been successfully updated. 

Phishing complete!

Hopefully, these emails will end up in the spam folder. Unfortunately, the first victims might have already fallen prey to this scam. If you’re one of those who have already clicked on the link and entered your password, we’d suggest you immediately change your password, because in all certainty your password has been compromised.