Mark from JerseyStyle Photography contacted me this morning about an odd email he received from “Gmail.”
From: Google Email Team
To: Date: Sep 25
Subj: Warning: VX2G99AAJDear Account User,
This Email is from Gmail customer care and we are sending it to every Gmail accounts owner for safety. We are having congestion due to the anonymous registration of Gmail accounts so we are shutting down some Gmail accounts and your account was among those to be deleted. We are sending this email to you so that you can verify and let us know if you still want to use this account. If you are still interested please confirm your account by filling the space below.Your User name, password, date of birth and your country information would be needed to verify your account. Due to the congestion in all Gmail users and removal of all unused Gmail Accounts. Gmail would be shutting down all unused Accounts, you will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Login Information below after clicking the reply button or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.*
User name: ………………………..*
Password: …………………………..*
Date of Birth: ……………………….*
Country Or Territory: ………………..
Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his or her account within Seven days of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.
Thank you for using Gmail !
The Gmail TeamG MAI L BETA
This is absolutely fake. It’s a phishing attack designed to steal your password.
Here are the signs that it’s not real:
- Google won’t ask you for your password in an email. No legitimate company will. Ever. Don’t give your password to anyone via email.
- Even if it contained a link to a Google-looking site that asked for your password, I would be skeptical. There are some phishing sites that look very convincing.
- It’s poorly edited. Take the last line alone, “The Gmail TeamG MAI L BETA.” The spacing is all wrong. Google wouldn’t release that.
- It doesn’t make sense. Google has a ton of data storage capacity, they won’t be running out of space.
If you ever get an email like this and are unsure if it’s the real deal, send it my way and I will take a look for you.
Practice safe computing with a health skepticism while reading email.
The Geek Whisperer 
Good points. I actually received this email twice. Thanks!
Perhaps your email address is listed twice on the same spammer’s list. You shouldn’t just delete the email, you should report it as spam to Google. There is a button to do so in Gmail.
Done and done. Thanks!
Great advice – the internet becomes more challenging everyday yet the good out weighs the bad – like real life. keep dreaming – itsReal !!!