Fake Google Doc Spam Emails Are Infecting Inboxes Everywhere And Now You Can’t Trust Anyone Anymore

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The beginning of May is already full of interesting developments: not only is Mercury no longer in retrograde (so what if I ~believe~), but there’s also a new spam email that’s been affecting people everywhere and I’m convinced it will usher in the end of the world.

https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/859843677950099456

Am I dramatic? Maybe. But hear me out.

This particular form of spam is a tricky one — it arrives in your inbox innocently disguised as a Google Docs invitation from someone you love and trust (or someone you know but don’t particularly love or trust). When you click the link, it’ll take you to a real Google sign-in screen and asks you to “Continue to Google Docs.” Once you sign in and agree, it hacks into your email and sends similar spam messages to everyone in your contacts list. Why? So mayhem can begin its slow descent upon us, probably.

When you inevitably get the email (it’s everywhere, you can’t escape it), you’ll want to open it. Believe me, nothing is worse than the curiosity of leaving a Google Doc invitation unopened. But be smart and run while you can, or else you’ll be one of the first victims of the Email Apocalypse.

This is how the end begins — you open a Google Doc sent from one of your coworker only to find that it’s spam and has hacked your email account. Your trust already sufficiently decreased, you approach said coworker about the email. Either they 1) admit to opening a similar email and you continue to be wary of anything they send you for years or 2) they swear they never opened any spam mail, which is when the true chaos begins.

 

If you didn’t click the link, then how did that Google Docs invitation get into my inbox? Huh? Huh?!?! Don’t try to lie to me when I (and now everyone in my contacts list, thanks) have solid proof that this is all your fault!

Who can we trust anymore? How do we know if a Google Docs invite is real or fake? What if every email in my inbox is just another elaborate scam to break down my trust and faith in humanity? How do I know?!

https://twitter.com/nicoleperlroth/status/859847909445074946

But anyway, if you are one of those terrible people that clicked on the link and infected the rest of us with your terrible spam mail and trust issues, you should probably change your password and revoke future access through Google’s Connected Apps and Sites page.

I’m telling you, guys, the apocalypse is coming, and when it does, it’ll arrive via email spam. Trust no one.