Google is the world’s most used search engine and the company’s email system is just as popular. According to media reports, the number of hijack attempts for users of the site are increasing by the day. This fact was also brought to light on February 19, 2013, by Mike Hearn on the company’s blog site.
The tech company has been taking steps to make sure that its users do not fall prey to the various scams that have been doing the rounds of late. Phishing attempts have also been on the increase, with hijackers posing as friends stranded in foreign countries asking for money. Other spammers try and bypass filters by sending information that appears to come from authentic sources.
Google security engineer Mike Hearn said in his February 19, 2013 blog post, “Although spam filters have become very powerful — in Gmail, less than one percent of spam emails make it into an inbox — these unwanted messages are much more likely to make it through if they come from someone you’ve been in contact with before”.
There are some methods that users could adopt to stay ahead of these hijackers and hackers. These being – using strong passwords, incorporating two-step verification, not replying to suspicious emails and exercising caution when clicking on emailed links.