If you have a Gmail account, please keep reading to protect yourself from an extremely sophisticated scam.

 

How the Scam Works

  • You receive an email that appears to come from “no-reply@google.com" alerting you about a subpoena issued to Google LLC by law enforcement.
  • Variations of the email may include a Google Support Case ID.
  • The email notes that law enforcement needs to retrieve information contained in your “Google Account.”
  • The email directs you to http://sites.google.com to review materials on the case or submit a protest to sharing your information.
  • If you click “View case” or “Upload documents” you are redirected to a page that looks exactly like the legitimate Google sign in-page.  However, you will notice that the URL is a mix of letters and numbers and does not have Google as part of the URL.  Once logged in, the scammers steal your credentials.

 

How to Protect Against This Scam

  • Do NOT follow links in unsolicited emails or unexpected websites. 
  • Pay attention to the way the websites appear.  There may be misspellings, fuzzy logos, etc. HTTPS may be missing, or you may receive a message that the connection is not secure. 
  • Enable 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your Google account.
  • Do not use your Google account to log in to other sites and services.
  • Verify the authenticity of emails or websites before clicking or entering information.
  • Remember scammers always use a sense of urgency or play on our emotions to get us to act quickly.