# WTF? I'm no SPAMMER! (GMail) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-im-no-spammer-gmail/355548 "2006-05-05T15:28:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-im-no-spammer-gmail/355548/1 "2006-05-05T15:28:33Z")
This is the second time in a month that I get this threat: > [@](#): > > Your Gmail Account is: \ > > Your Gmail Account is subject to verification because of the reason listed below. You don’t need to do anything, this message is simply a notification to uphold the Gmail Anti-Spam Policy. > > REASON- SPAMMING > > TO VERIFY “\@gmail.com” as a valid email address for the Gmail account “\”, click on the link provided and follow the instructions. Failure to verify might result in the permanent deletion of your Gmail Account. I’ve only recently opened this account and there is only one person I use this account with because I’ve been to idle to switch all my contacts over from my other email accounts. Is anybody else getting these threats in their GMail Account? Is this a scam? ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-im-no-spammer-gmail/355548/2 "2006-05-05T15:34:53Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > This is the second time in a month that I get this threat: > > I’ve only recently opened this account and there is only one person I use this account with because I’ve been to idle to switch all my contacts over from my other email accounts. > > Is anybody else getting these threats in their GMail Account? Is this a scam? My guess is a spammer has used your email as the reply-to. My mom once got a call from a neighbor who was convinced that I was sending her porn. “Well it’s her name isn’t it?!” Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Means\_Go](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cc9497/32.png) [@Green\_Means\_Go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Means_Go)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-im-no-spammer-gmail/355548/3 "2006-05-05T17:41:33Z")
> [@](#): > > TO VERIFY “\@gmail.com” as a valid email address for the Gmail account “\”, click on the link provided and follow the instructions. Failure to verify might result in the permanent deletion of your Gmail Account. This makes it sound like a scam to me. I bet if you click on the link it asks you to enter your username and password to ‘verify’ your email address. At that point it gets sent to the scammer who can now take over your gmail account. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-im-no-spammer-gmail/355548/4 "2006-05-05T17:53:10Z")
I strongly suspect it is a “phishing” scam. The link goes to a non-Google site and the info allows them to steal your account (or whatever else you are foolish enough to type in). _Never_ trust such messages and _never_ click on the link. If you are a nervous nelly and want to double check, go to the web site directly and check things there. You should look at the plain text of the email message. (Which is the only way I read mail anyway.) That usually tells you what fake web site it is really redirecting you to anyway. Why does someone want your gmail account (why don’t they get their own)? E.g., you have an eBay account linked to your gmail address. If someone knows your gmail userid and password, they go to eBay, click the “forgot password” link, eBay mails a new password to the gmail account. The scammer now has taken over your eBay account. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-im-no-spammer-gmail/355548/5 "2006-05-05T17:59:40Z")
On closer inspection… yeah, it’s a scam. Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-im-no-spammer-gmail/355548/6 "2006-05-05T18:15:02Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > E.g., you have an eBay account linked to your gmail address. If someone knows your gmail userid and password, they go to eBay, click the “forgot password” link, eBay mails a new password to the gmail account. The scammer now has taken over your eBay account. In many cases they don’t even need to bother doing this, because most people will have the same password for both.