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Google has issued an urgent warning to approximately 1.8 billion Gmail users about a sophisticated phishing scam that exploits its AI assistant, Gemini. Attackers are embedding hidden instructions—using zero‑font or white text invisible to humans—into emails. When users ask Gemini to summarize messages, the AI reads these concealed commands and generates fake “security alerts,” tricking users into sharing passwords or calling fraudulent support numbers UNILAD+5The Sun+5The Times of India+5Instagram+4The Economic Times+4The Sun+4.
🔍 How the Scam Works
- Cybercriminals send emails containing hidden prompt injections designed to be interpreted by Gemini.
- Gemini generates bogus warnings such as “your email has been compromised,” urging users to take immediate action.
- Victims may be coerced into entering credentials, clicking malicious links, or dialing fake tech‑support lines The Sun.
🧠 Why It’s Dangerous
This form of “indirect prompt injection” takes advantage of AI’s inability to distinguish between malicious and legitimate embedded instructions. Gemini cannot filter out such prompts if they precede user-visible text, making users vulnerable until Google patches the flaw UNILAD+2The Sun+2The Economic Times+2.
✅ Expert Advice & Recommended Protections
- Configure email clients to detect and neutralize hidden content—especially invisible text.
- Use post-processing filters to flag emails with urgent tone, suspicious URLs, or phone numbers.
- Always treat any Gemini‑generated security alert with extreme caution—Google never issues real warnings via Gemini summaries New York Post+11The Sun+11The Economic Times+11.
🔐 Strengthen Your Account Security
- Enable Two‑Step Verification (2SV) immediately; Google has begun nudging users to activate it with a 15–30 day deadline Tom’s Guide.
- Switch from traditional passwords to passkeys (biometric or device‑based login), which are phishing‑resistant and secure MojoAuth+3The Sun+3New York Post+3.
- Always access Google services by typing the URL directly and avoid clicking embedded links in suspicious messages.