New Phishing Scam is Targeting 1.5 Billion Gmail Calendar Users

Millions of people across the world schedule meetings, phone calls and events on Gmail calendars every day, taking for granted that this handy calendar app functions flawlessly.

Now, scammers are using Gmail calendars to infect computers with malware and other malicious viruses.

How does it work?

The bad guys will send a Google user a calendar invite that includes the meeting topic and location information. The details of the appointment contain a link to “meet.google.com” which appears to be legitimate but is actually a masked malicious link.

Once the link is clicked, the virus begins to infect the user’s computer.

Given the number of users who depend on Google Calendar, this attack is spreading quickly. And since the link is hidden in the meeting invite, along with what appears to be a valid URL, users are engaged with the calendar app before it’s too late.

As cybercriminals continue to find new ways to trick users into clicking malicious links, it’s important to always confirm legitimacy before acting.

Read about other recent online scams and IT Tips here.