New Security Warning Issued For Google's 1.8 Billion Gmail Users
The security of Gmail has always been one of its biggest selling points, but now one of its most important new security features is actively being used by hackers to scam users
Introduced last month, the Gmail checkmark system highlights verified companies and organizations to users with a blue checkmark. The idea is to help users discern which emails are legitimate and which may have been sent by impersonators running scams. Unfortunately, scammers have tricked the system.
Spotted by cybersecurity engineer Chris Plummer, scammers have found a way to convince Gmail that their fake brands are legitimate. Thereby using the confidence the checkmark system is supposed to instill against Gmail users.
Plummer reports that Google initially dismissed his discovery as “intended behaviour” before his tweets about it went viral, and the company acknowledged the error. In a statement to Plummer, Google wrote:
Plummer highlights that Google has now listed the flaw as a ‘P1’ (top priority) fix, which is currently “in progress.”
