Attorney General Jim Hood warns consumers to be cautious in clicking links contained in any unsolicited emails sent to their email accounts.  One version of this common scam recently reappeared when Google account holders received an email asking the users to review the details of their accounts in order to comply with regulations. These types of scams are commonly referred to as “phishing.”

The new email appears to be from Google and indicates that the user needs to review the details of their Google account in order to comply with governmental regulations. If the user clicks the link, they are directed to a malicious site that will steal their Google credentials and potentially install malicious code onto their computers.

“Our investigators have confirmed this is a phishing scam,” said Attorney General Jim Hood. “If you click the link, you will see that the word ‘account’ is misspelled on the website the user is directed to through the link.  Spelling and grammatical errors are telltale signs of a scam.”

If you do have a Google account and receive a similar email, don’t click on the link, and don’t submit any user names, passwords or personal information via email.  Instead, go to https://accounts.google.com/ and use your secure login to verify any account activity.

If you do receive a phishing email, forward the email to the business purporting to send it so that they can be aware their name is being used in a phishing attempt. If you have provided information in response to a phishing scam, contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-281-4418.