Blog Summary – Google Critical Security Alert warns you of any suspicious activities on your accounts. Mostly regarding the new sign-in in an unknown device or network. In this blog, we will find out if the alert is genuine or not and if it is what to do next. how to resolve the issue.
Have you received an email for a Gmail account – Critical Security Alert? But wondering if it is legitimate or is this just another scam to get my password?
For those who are not aware, yes “Critical Security Alert By Gmail is an authentic alert notification sent on your email. But at the same time, many cyber criminals take advantage of it and try to run frauds around it. So, how does one differentiate between fake and real alert? We will help you figure out that the email stating ‘Critical Security Alert By Google, A new device signed into’’ is legitimate or fake?
How Does The Google Critical Security Alert Scam Look Like?
Google’s Security Alert feature notifies you every time a user tries to log into your account from a new device or network. Either way, Google will automatically send you an email to confirm stating – Is it you, trying to log in from a new device?
The main causes of receiving this Google Security Alert email: When you try to sign in from a new device or you browse the web behind a VPN or a proxy server. For the latter reason, masking your IP Address makes Google think that a login attempt is made from a new device that you don’t usually use and has a unique IP Address!
How to Distinguish a Real Google Security Alert From a Fake One?
For obvious reasons, it is not completely possible to copy Google’s authentication. Therefore, the scammers are bound to make mistakes. You need to look for these mistakes such as, the sender’s email address, any links associated with urls other than Google Security pages. They might not be able to provide a detailed description of a new activity. Next section offers a detailed description of how you can distinguish between real and fake Google security alerts.
What To Do When You Get A Google Security Alert Email?
If you think you’ve been a victim of “Google security alert email scam”, here are the following things you can do:
1. Ask Yourself, Whether It Looks Legitimate
If you are trying to log in to your account from a new device or your work system, there’s no harm. If you are surfing while VPN is enabled, there might be a probability that Google has shot the email, since it is trying to recognize the new/unique IP Address. If that’s the scenario, it can undoubtedly be a legitimate false alarm.
2. Cross-Check The Sender Details
You need to verify whether the Google Security Alert email has arrived from the official Google company or not. If it looks suspicious, don’t click on the email!
3. Observe The Quality Of Email
Simply check for the grammatical errors and style of writing and drafting the email. If it is not from a legitimate source like Google, they will not take the pain of proofreading the emails before shooting them. If you spot a spelling mistake or any other flaw that can’t be expected from a company like Google, then it’s a false critical security alert by Google. IGNORE IT!
4. Avoid Emails With Links OR Download Buttons
If the Google Security Alert email urges you to click on the link or download something to get rid of the error or tempts you to secure your account by downloading an application. It’s probably a genuine sign that you are dealing with a fake or phishing email. Make sure you delete the email instantly from your account and DO NOT click any of the attachments sent to you. You’re most likely dealing with a bogus critical security alert from Google.
5. Take Help Of Google Account Security Checkup
Still in doubt? Simply navigate to the Google Security Check-up page. Here you get the entire information related to how many devices are connected, how many of them are currently signed in, third-party access, recent security events, and so on. Have a look at every entry and if you aren’t able to detect anything suspicious, you can be sure that it was a phishing critical security alert by Google.
Additionally, using this Google Security Check-up Page, you can even remove devices that are no longer associated with your accounts or you do not specifically use them to operate your Google account. You can even add a recovery email to regain access to your account if you’re ever locked out. Not only this, by navigating to the Google Security Check-up page, you can learn how Google helps keep your online activities safe!
What Happens When You Fall For The Google Critical Security Alert Scam?
Well, if you’ve accidentally clicked a link from the phishing email or have downloaded a file or application on your device. Here’s what you need to understand:
- If you’ve fallen for a phishing attack, it means hackers now have your password & also installed malicious content on your device.
- They might take quick screenshots of your device
- They might steal your password saved on Drive or Browser.
- They might steal and delete your precious files.
- They might bombard you with useless advertisements.
- Install multiple copies of malware, adware, spyware, and run them secretly.
Don’t panic, as there are a variety of workarounds you can implement to get rid of the Google Security Alert Email Scam.
How Do I Get Rid Of Google Critical Security Alert Scam?
First of all, you need to act fast! If you spot any unknown or suspicious activity on your device, here’s what you need to do:
1. Change All Your Passwords
Simply delete all the saved passwords from your browser & other accounts. You need to change them quickly. Make sure you do not use the same password for all of your accounts. If you think it gets hard to remember numerous credentials, simply take the help of a dedicated Password Manager like TweakPass! It also brings a Password Generator utility to provide users with strong, unique, and complex passwords.
2. Scan Your Device For Virus Or Malware
As we’ve mentioned, if hackers have access to your device, they can perform plenty of wrongdoings. One of them is installing multiple copies of malware, adware, spyware & other viruses. Therefore, you need to scan your device and locate the malicious content using a reliable Antivirus Tool that can help you detect them automatically and help you
detect such threats automatically and allows you to safeguard your entire device for 360-degree protection.
Hopefully, the damage done by the “Google security alert email scam” is also resolved by now. If you know or use any other reliable antivirus protection software for your device, do let us know in the comments section below!
3. Run ID Theft Protection Service
It is highly recommended that you avoid saving credentials on your device (Notes app or anywhere else). If you need to check whether your system stores any Privacy Exposing threats, quickly scan your device with an ID Theft Protection Service like Advanced Identity Protector. If found, the ID Theft Service will allow you to either shred them permanently or save them in a Secure Vault, which can only be accessed by you & no one else.
Wrapping up –
Keep in mind that following the above-mentioned steps you can make sure to fall into any traps. Deleting such phishing emails from your inbox should do the trick. But to ensure the safety of your device from potential threats, you can use an Antivirus tool to detect spams. Additionally, making your online activities safe by avoiding unknown websites, applications and removing digital footprints regularly will help.
If you are still concerned about your security, do drop us a mail at support@wethegeek.com .We’ll try our best to help you resolve the issue!
In case you’ve ever been a target of a Google security alert email scam, do not forget to share your personal experience of dealing with it in the comments section below!