25 Mar 08 Google AdWords account phishing attempt from frje8fdj.cn / adwords.google.com.frje8fdj.cn

Well this is a new one for me: A phishing attempt trying to extract one (or more) of my Google AdWords accounts by getting me to sign in… the URL in the phishing email quoted below shows as http://adwords.google.com/select/login in the email, but a careful mouse-over shows that the actual target URL is http://adwords.google.com.frje8fdj.cn/select/Login/ …

The only other reference to the frje8fdj.cn is over at phishtank.com – and phishtank members (yes, I am one) have confirmed it as obviously being an AdWords phishing attempt. PhishTank has a great interface that actually shows what the target page looks like.

In this case it is a very convincing AdWords login page… now, some may think that stealing and AdWords SEM account is not great theft, but consider that some AdWords accounts may be tied to high credit limits and at the very least, they could use your account to drive traffic to their other sites… with you left holding the bill!

No the above is not phishing, it’s a direct link to Google.

From: Google AdWords [mailto:reactivation@google.com]
Sent: March 25, 2008 7:24 AM
To: [email suppressed]
Subject: Please Update Your Billing Information

This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does
not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message.
——————————————————————————–

Dear Google AdWords Customer,

Please sign in to your account at http://adwords.google.com/select/login , and update your billing information.
Your account will be reactivated as soon as you update your payment information.
Your ads will show immediately if you decide to pay for clicks via credit
or debit card. If you decide to pay by direct debit, we may need to receive
your signed debit authorization before your ads start running,
depending on your location.
If you choose bank transfer, your ads will show as soon as we receive your
first payment.

We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,

———————————————————————————-

The Google AdWords Team

Tags: Cybercrime, Google AdWords, phishing, Scams, SEO / SEM