Gmail and other email accounts hacked

Yep it's happening everywhere even on ISP accounts side where poor customers would be asked for username /password as if it's legitimate email only to find out that the email/website where it's coming from is not of ISP: never compromise your pwd/usn details
 
Phishing :sick:

As most webmail services is whitelisted by spam filters, phishers will try to get hold of legitimate accounts to spam from.

The battle against spam can never be won, unless people stop replying to plue pills/rolex watches/lose fat quick/whateverthescam advertisements.
 
The title of the article is misleading, nothing was hacked, user were fooled into revealing something they should not.
 
moklet said:
Nothing being hacked except for users brains. Wonder when people will start using different passwords for the different accounts and don't respond to any willy nilly email
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I don't understand how people are still stupid enough to give out this information to an unsolicited email. In all my time using the Internet, I have never, EVER, had a legitimate email requesting login details for ANYTHING.

This is not a new scam, it's old, as are the scams with Nigerian princesses and their millions of dollars, or lottery winning notifications for lotteries you didn't enter, or don't even exist. Amongst others.

If people are really this dumb, maybe I am in the wrong business?.

B
 
The problem with this stuff is that the counter measures are sometimes very technical. Think about checking the SSL certificate for example. It is easy for someone who is technical to say do this do that but in reality a non technical person will find it difficult. So while just blindly giving away your details will work on some people, a very well designed fake site will work on lots and lots of people.
 
funny how this is classified as hacking. seems nice and easy way to sensationalise a real boring story.

so if i get the pin of someones bank account and draw R500 from their account, I hacked it?

if i get the pin code of their phone and sms someone, i hacked vodacom? or did i hack nokia?

get real. hacking is not 'logging in with the username and password that the person gave you'
 
thought some real hacking happened ,, turns out its just the n00bs who's email addys got "hacked".
 
What a BS headline... how can people knowingly be so misleading and sensationalist... grrr
 
Doesn't sound like hacking to me but phishing is a real prob to most pple who doesn't know about it.

I was send a FNB online banking re-activation mail, being an IT professional I was fooled by how real it looked but once I clicked on the link the address gave it away, I then told all my clients, 4 of them use FNB and they all entered their passwords.

I think more needs to be done to inform people of phishing and how to spot the fake websites. Maybe running something like this in the mainstream media (mybroadband is really only for us IT guys).
 
Happening with Facebook too, many of my friends are saying that their Facebook status updates have been "hijacked" - even mine was... something about losing weight or something stupid.

I've changed all my passwords lately (or most of them anyways)
 
Kawak said:
Doesn't sound like hacking to me but phishing is a real prob to most pple who doesn't know about it.

I was send a FNB online banking re-activation mail, being an IT professional I was fooled by how real it looked but once I clicked on the link the address gave it away, I then told all my clients, 4 of them use FNB and they all entered their passwords.

I think more needs to be done to inform people of phishing and how to spot the fake websites. Maybe running something like this in the mainstream media (mybroadband is really only for us IT guys).
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i agree, also got that FNB email, the give away there was i've never had an FNB accoutn before. lol
 
Well about a year ago my Gmail account was hacked. Nobody had my password, I am not stupid enough to give out my details to any phishing scam, and I have excellent security on my pc. I shut down my pc, went out, came home and found that spam had been sent to everyone of my contacts, after which all of them were deleted out of my contact list. After doing some research I found a few other people who had the same problem, as well as a few yahoo users. After reporting it on the gmail support group along with a handful of other victims, gmail implemented the feature which shows the ip address of the last few logins.

So these accounts have been hacked before, and I was a victim.
 
iceblue said:
Well about a year ago my Gmail account was hacked. Nobody had my password, I am not stupid enough to give out my details to any phishing scam, and I have excellent security on my pc. I shut down my pc, went out, came home and found that spam had been sent to everyone of my contacts, after which all of them were deleted out of my contact list. After doing some research I found a few other people who had the same problem, as well as a few yahoo users. After reporting it on the gmail support group along with a handful of other victims, gmail implemented the feature which shows the ip address of the last few logins.

So these accounts have been hacked before, and I was a victim.
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Then your password was too easy, and therefore successfully discovered by the software used by the hacker. Search for the article on this forum about passwords.

B
 
iceblue said:
Well about a year ago my Gmail account was hacked. Nobody had my password, I am not stupid enough to give out my details to any phishing scam, and I have excellent security on my pc. I shut down my pc, went out, came home and found that spam had been sent to everyone of my contacts, after which all of them were deleted out of my contact list. After doing some research I found a few other people who had the same problem, as well as a few yahoo users. After reporting it on the gmail support group along with a handful of other victims, gmail implemented the feature which shows the ip address of the last few logins.

So these accounts have been hacked before, and I was a victim.
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90% chance of a key logger, installing dodgey software? browse a site you shouldnt be? got something pirated on your PC? Did you, by any chance, download bozo buddy?

And if you didn't, maybe someone else did.
 
Bismuth said:
Then your password was too easy, and therefore successfully discovered by the software used by the hacker. Search for the article on this forum about passwords.

B
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Highly unlikely. My passwords are very long and secure and match all recommended requirements for security. I have since changed it though.


And as for keyloggers, dodgy/pirated software, Bonzo Buddy, etc. none of these apply to me. Nobody else would have installed it as everything on the pc is installed by me and I only install those programs which I require.

Now I'm not ruling out any of the possible causes suggested but I am saying that it is highly improbable. I'm usually the one telling people to change their passwords and then being criticized for how long and complex mine is. I take security very seriously which is why I am very careful with what is installed and run on my pc.
 
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