Phishing attacks have become a common norm now but lately, a different kind of social engineering hack has been identified, which uses a mobile phone to trap you.
Now this can be termed as a seriously scary trick for hacking email accounts.
This Symantec video explains that a new trick has been developed by attackers for hacking an email account. It is a very simple tactic; if you need to reset someone’s email password then all you need is his or her mobile number.
The anatomy of this hack attack is simple yet effective:
1. Activate the Google password reset feature that sends a text message with an unlock code to the registered phone number:
2. Send the target or victim an SMS message from an unknown number and warn that he or she is about to receive a code asking them to verify their google account by replying to the message:
When the code is received by the user and as a response, they send it back to the attacker, it becomes fairly easy for the attacker to log into Gmail account without detection.
Watch this video to see how it’s done and how can you save yourself from such scams:
This definitely is a potent trick that can deceive just about anyone who hasn’t watched this video. That’s because a majority of users would most likely reply to text message sent from an unknown number especially after the launching of services like Twilio and Nexmo.
