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Is Google Verifying Gmail Accounts?

I'm concerned, Dave! I got an email from account-upgrade@gmail.com saying that "to ensure you do not lose your E-mail account during this period, you must confirm to us that your account is still active by responding to this notice with your account information", but then it asks for both my account name and password. Surely that's not right, is it?

Dave's Answer:

It's not right, and don't call me Shirley! (with a nod to the recently deceased comic actor Leslie Nielsen)

This is easy enough to figure out: no online service will ever ask you to email them your current or former account password, and they don't need your account name because they already know it, right?

Let me say that again:

No online service will ever ask for your password.

I know the email you got because I got a couple of copies too, and it's actually fairly well thought out, doesn't have any typos, etc:

Dear Gmail User,
This message is from our "Gmail" messaging center to all our subscribers. We wish to inform you all that we are updating our database and e-mail center.
Thus, we are currently deleting of all unused / inactive Gmail accounts to create more space for new accounts.
To ensure you do not lose your E-mail account during this period, you must confirm to us that your account is still active by responding to this notice with your account information below:

1 - Username:
2 - E-mail:
3 - Password:
4 - Telephone:

NOTE: This information will help us upgrade your account to our new F-Secure 2010 version HTK4S anti-virus/anti-spyware and your password will be encrypted with 1024-bit RSA keys for your password security.
Failure to comply with this notification may automatically render your E-mail account de-activated from our database email / server.

Sorry for the inconvenience.
Verification Code: en: 6524
© 2010 Gmail Technical Support

This is, of course, bogus, and I'm sure that by the time you read this blog posting that Google will have already shut down the "account-upgrade" account, just in case anyone is naive enough to respond with the information specified.

Wondering what they'll do with your information? I can assure you that it's nothing to do with "F-Secure" software, that's for sure! More likely they'll immediately log in to your account - since you gave them the username and password - and change the password and security question. Net result? You just lost your account, your email archive, address book, and any chance of trying to get it back.

So one more time now, with feeling...

Don't share your password with anyone, ever. Not even me.

There. Now go delete that message without a second thought.

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Categorized: Google Gmail Help   (Article 9725, Written by )
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Comments (4) · Add Comment

I would love to have my own e-mail account

Posted by: zokora at January 16, 2011 11:51 PM

I would like to own my email account so that i can be able to loggin into different sites of internet it is my wish to have one so that i cn myk frnds

Posted by: Emily seloma at January 21, 2011 3:00 PM

Is my email account abdated so that i cn start loggin to facebook

Posted by: Emily seloma at January 21, 2011 3:05 PM

My Name is Bhaskar Kumar Das. My Email ID is bhskrdas@gmail.com. But presently I have not work properly. Username & password is incorrect. Please help me. This email is very important for me. Please help anybody.

Posted by: Bhaskar Kumar Das at April 19, 2011 7:47 AM
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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