Watch Out for Strange Google Docs Links

Beware any offer to share a Google Docs file, even if that offer appears to have been sent by someone you know. The Los Angeles Times reports thousands of people were targeted by a phishing scam Wednesday. The scam starts with an email with a link to a Google Docs file. According to Gizmodo, this email was received by—among many others—reporters at Hearst, Vice, BuzzFeed, and New York. Clicking on the link takes targets to a fake Google Docs website, asking them to login with their Google username and password.

While the email "doesn't look quite right," the website is pretty accurate, even matching Google's recent redesign. If targets log in, the fake website gets access to their contacts and sends out more phishing emails. It's unclear what, if any, information the site is stealing from victims. One way to know if the Google Docs email you just received is a scam: it appears to have been sent to "hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh@mailinator.com." (More phishing stories.)