New Gmail Fraud Mode,

Pick Up Phone, Account Drained

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia –A recent report mentions a phishing scam related to Gmail accounts. The perpetrators use Artificial Intelligence to make phone calls to sound perfect.

The report came from Microsoft Solutions Consultant, Sam Mitrovic. He said he received a notification for an account recovery attempt, but he rejected it.

After that, he received a notification about 40 minutes later. He said he missed the call that was said to be from Google Sydney.

A week later, the same notification about account recovery approval came in again. Likewise, 40 minutes later a phone call came in.

This time he picked it up and a United States (US) man was on the other end of the phone. The man said he was from Google Support.

In the call, Mitrovic was told that his account was showing suspicious activity. He also said an attacker had held access for the past week and had downloaded account data.

It was only after talking to the man that he realized he had spoken to AI. According to him, fraud is indeed getting more sophisticated now.

“People are busy and this scam seems legitimate enough that I would give them AI for their efforts. Many people will fall for it, but at the individual level with the best tools, they are vigilant,” he explained as quoted by Tom’s Guide, Monday (10/14/2024).

To avoid becoming a victim, there are several ways that can be done. One of them is not to rush to check incoming messages.

Fraudsters will instill a sense of urgency so that potential victims are anxious and stressed enough. So they will follow whatever is instructed.

Check the email address or information that comes in. Make sure that the incoming email is from a company that is indeed trusted.

Finally, use the best antivirus software on your device. That way, your device will remain protected from malware or viruses when opening phishing emails.

SOURCE : CNBC INDONESIA