For REALTORS® who use the Google products Google Drive and Google Docs, there is a new scam to be aware of. According to Symantec.com, “The scam uses a simple subject of “Documents” and urges the recipient to view an important document on Google Docs by clicking on the included link.” The users are then sent to a fake Google page to enter their username and password. Symantic reports that “The fake page is actually hosted on Google’s servers and is served over SSL, making the page even more convincing. The scammers have simply created a folder inside a Google Drive account, marked it as public, uploaded a file there, and then used Google Drive’s preview feature to get a publicly-accessible URL to include in their messages.”

AAR members have reported receiving the following email related to this phishing scam:

Subject line: Document

Hello,

I’ve shared a document with you, it’s not an attachment – is stored online.  To open this document just view GOOGLEDOC and sign in with your email to see the document.

Thanks

If you feel that you’ve fallen victim to this scam, it is recommended you change your account password immediately. Refraining from opening links from unfamiliar email addresses could also help you protect yourself from scams such as these.

More information can be found here.