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Gmail's New Anti-Scam Feature Alerts Users to Strange Log-ins

by Amar Toor on March 25, 2010 at 09:25 AM

In response to a slew of clever e-mail scams, Google has introduced a new security feature that automatically notifies Gmail users whenever suspicious activity appears on their account. In addition to the recent activity information that currently runs across the bottom of Gmail users' inboxes, Google has now decided to send out warning messages whenever it detects something fishy going on. As the company explains on its blog, Gmail's automated system determines when to send out a warning by comparing the IP addresses of recent log-ins. While Gmail can't pinpoint the exact location from which a user logs in to an account, it can map it to a general geographical area. If a login in one country, for example, is quickly followed by a another, the alert system would be triggered and the user would be notified.

Upon receiving the warning, users can click on the "Details" link within the message to see all recent activity on their accounts, as well as the access points of recent log-ins. If an account has been hacked, the user can then change his or her password directly via the warning message, or, if it's a false alarm, can choose to dismiss the warning.

Google's latest safeguard measure comes after a rash of insidious e-mail scams, the most common of which involves scammers hijacking Gmail accounts to spam friends and relatives asking for cash. Since the scam e-mail comes from the actual person's address, it's easy for people to fall into the hacker's web. Hopefully, this new security feature will mitigate that to a certain extent, by using a notification system similar to the one used by credit card companies to alert consumers about suspicious purchases. The onus, of course, remains on users to take any further action, but it's good to know that Google's doing everything it can. [From: Gmail, via: ReadWriteWeb]

Tags: gmail, google, scams, scams and frauds, ScamsAndFrauds, security, security update, SecurityUpdate, top

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