Gmail users hit by ViddyHo phishing chat attack

Graham Cluley
Graham Cluley
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It’s not been a good 24 hours for Gmail users. Having survived a blackout yesterday morning, fans of Google’s email system have been the target of phishing campaign spreading via the Google Talk chat system.

The unsolicited instant messages urge Gmail users to “check out this video” by clicking on a link via the TinyURL service. The link, however, directs users to a website called ViddyHo – which asks surfers to enter their Gmail usernames and passwords.

This is, of course, a classic attempt to phish credentials from the unwary. The hackers behind ViddyHo could use the credentials they have stolen via their site to break into accounts, grab identity information and impact your wallet.

Because people are more used to receiving suspicious communications via email than instant messaging chat sessions, there’s a chance that some users may be more likely to fall into the…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.