After Googling, I must also add a new warning. The legit messages do NOT contain any attachments and all route back correctly.
Fine, but you are quoting me after the fact, and I was referring to your statement that there is a “lot of misinformation” in the thread at the time you made post #17. Where is the “lot of misinformation” you’re referring to in posts 1-16?
In any event, I’m still not convinced that Google sends actual emails - mainly because I’ve gotten plenty of those ‘suspicious activity’ warning flags from Google and they have all been in the main browser view, in the form of bold text with a red or pink background.
I have seen several Google knowledge base articles where they discuss the flags they display on the face of your inbox. But I can’t seen to find anything that says they will actually send you emails, although I admit that I have not researched too thoroughly. If you can find a policy statement or KB article where they say that they send actual warning emails, I’d be interested in seeing it.
I would think that would just add to the noise. As the OP notes, how can you tell the real ones from the scams? It seems much more effective for Google to do the notification at the top of the inbox view (where they have easy access and scammers don’t), rather than as just another email that might get lost in the noise.
I get my email through my phone like many others do nowadays which means no login page 
I am not going to argue I am stating fact go on your hunch it cannot hurt you but it is wrong.
This thread contains a post from a Google Community Manager confirming that they do in fact send these emails. I have also received them, and they were legitimate.
That said, I have no doubt that phishers have imitated these emails as well. You’re always better off going to a website yourself, rather than you using links in emails.
Yep, I got one on my alternate email address (which happens to be my work email) last week. Because I hadn’t had one before I didn’t follow the link - I logged into GMail and saw the banner warning.
Because of my super-paranoia I didn’t even follow the link there. I just went and changed my password.
And yes, the GMail email included the IP address.
I also was sent a notification about my Gmail account. I thought this was unusual, and Googled it. I read your threads and saw how maybe the alert itself is a virus.
I believe it is not, I went to Google’s main Gmail help at the URL : Blocked sign in notification - Google Account Help
It has an “s” with the “http” like its other sites and it thoroughly explains the “unusual activity alerts.”
This URL branches off of Google Account Help which is legitimate.
Some steps to take if you have this happen are:
1.Run a virus scan on your computer. Some hackers install programs on computers to track what you type, and a virus scan will reduce this risk.
2.Change your password. Someone likely knows your password and used it to sign in to your account.
3.Make sure your recovery options are up-to-date. If someone signed in to your account, they might have modified your account recovery settings so that they can get new passwords sent to their email address.
It might have been you if:
•You traveled to this location, and signed in to your account while you were there
•You started using a new mobile device
•You signed in to your account from a friend’s computer
•You signed in to your account on a shared computer at an Internet cafe, library, or another location
I also know there is the possibility that someone has an email very similar to yours and then attempted to sign in with a different password which then alerted google that you have a potential hacker when it was all innocent because they just made a typo.
In my case there is no way someone could have had my password or that I was ever there, so it’s really weird. I’m changing all my passwords to every site I go to and doing a complete virus/malware sweep on my computer.
Sorry if I repeated anything anyone else said. Hope this helps. 
That.
Reported