Gmail Undergoes AI Hacking, 2.5 Billion Users Alerted

Gmail has alerted its 2.5 billion users about an AI hack. The cybercriminals pretend that they belong to Google support, with caller IDs that seem legitimate.

The cybercriminals say the specific user’s Gmail account has been compromised by someone and that they are trying for account recovery.

The ‘support team’ will send an email to the user’s Gmail with a recovery code and the sender’s email account appears to be genuine, according to Forbes report.

The scam was identified by Zach Latta, the founder of Hack Club. Latta said that the voice on the other side sounded like a real engineer, the connection was super clear and that the woman had an American accent.

The voice makes one believe it is genuine, as the cybercriminals want the user to hand over their login credentials, so that they can gain access to it.

Spencer Starkey, vice-president at SonicWall, said that cybercriminals are constantly finding new tactics and techniques to exploit the vulnerabilities and also evade the security controls. Companies should respond quickly to such threats which require a proactive and flexible approach to cybersecurity, he said.

Founder of venture capital firm Y Combinator Garry Tan posted an announcement on X following the phishing emails and calls.

The hackers claim they are checking if you are alive and see if they should disregard a death certificate filed, claiming a family member is recovering your account,” he posted, adding that it’s a pretty elaborate ploy to get you to allow password recovery.

Forbes urged users to stay calm and hang any call received from ‘Google support’ as Google won’t call users. Users should use resources like Google search or Gmail account to check the phone to know if any stranger has access to your account.