America’s smartphone users are under attack from a plague of malicious texts designed to steal your passwords, your money, even your identity. Forget TikTok — this is China’s most dangerous technical export, powered by the country’s organized criminal gangs.
A new warning from Bitdefender is for Google account holders, whose logins “unlock an array of services, including Gmail, YouTube, Drive, Photos.” But beware — Google will never message to say “you won something because Google is celebrating today.”
The “danger” is that these so-called “Google Day scams “lead directly to stolen personal information, drained bank accounts or full-blown account takeovers.” If you receive any Google messages touting “Google Day,” delete them all right away.
Bitdefender says the Google messages scams have included “fake prize schemes branded as ‘Google Day’ or ‘Google Anniversary’ celebrations have circulated online, tempting victims with promises of rewards for being a ‘lucky searcher’ or ‘long-time user’.”
All these messages include a malicious link to a website that will lure you into giving away information or payment details. “Understanding how ‘Google Day’ scams work, why they succeed, and how to defend against them is crucial for staying safe online.”
Google is just one of the names impersonated for such scams. Parcel delivery texts minic USPS, FedEx or UPS, unpaid toll and DMV fines mimic real or imagined state agencies, refund scams mimic Amazon, lost password scams mimic Apple or Gmail.
Bitdefender warns that “a compromised Google account often means losing access to Gmail, YouTube, Drive, Photos, and other linked services. That kind of takeover can derail a person’s livelihood.” It’s easily avoided. Make sure you don’t fall victim.
They key advice here is that the entire premise behind these messages is fake. “There’s no such thing as official ‘Google Day’ giveaways or sweepstakes. If you realize that, you’ve already won most of the battle.” That’s why you can delete all such texts.
Specific lures may vary. But none of it is real. “Claims you have won a prize because it’s ‘customer appreciation’ day or an occasion to celebrate an ‘anniversary’ or the ‘5-billionth search’” are as ridiculous and spurious as they sound.
If you are lured into that click, you could even see two-factor authentication stolen via session cookies (the browser authentication codes that keep you signed in), as well as the user name and password you enter into a fake login page. That’s why it’s so critical to add a passkey to your Google Account. it cannot be intercepted, stolen or shared.
Guardio warns “you can recognize a fake text message by its sense of urgency, unfamiliar sender, and suspicious links designed to trick you.” Their team provides a guide on how to spot a fake text message here. Google Day fits right in.
The FBI’s advice is to delete all scam texts immediately — do not leave them on your phone, even though links are often blocked within a few hours.