A massive phishing scam was revealed today as people reported getting emails claiming a Google Doc had been shared with them. Clicking the link can cause the message to spread to all of a user's contacts.
The fake invitations have hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh(at)mailinator.com listed in the to or from field. If you received the message, do not click on the “Open in Docs” button.
According to a Reddit thread, Google has been notified of the problem and has already rolled out a temporary fix.
If you accidentally clicked on the link, go to your Google account settings and revoke access for the app labeled "Google Docs." This will not delete the real Google Docs, which is always connected to your account.
The spam virus appears to use your email only to spread itself, according to The Atlantic.
The phishing email quickly spread throughout the internet Wednesday, spurring memes galore.
The scam become so ubiquitous so quickly that some users were left wondering if not receiving it was a sign of their unpopularity.
Update: Google says it has fixed the problem.
"We have taken action to protect users against an email impersonating Google Docs, and have disabled offending accounts," a Google spokesperson told The Verge. "We've removed the fake pages, pushed updates through Safe Browsing, and our abuse team is working to prevent this kind of spoofing from happening again."
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