This morning, I woke up to a frantic email forwarded to me from an AdWords client:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Google AdWords [mailto:reactivation@google.com]
Sent: 26 June 2008 11:29
To: [Client Name]
Subject: Your ads have been suspended.

————————————–
Dear Advertiser,

We were unable to process your payment.
Your ads will be suspended soon unless we can process your payment.
To prevent your ads from being suspended, please update your payment
information.

Please sign in
to your account at http://adwords.google.com/select/login
and update your payment information.

We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.
Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords.
——————————–
The Google AdWords Team
——————————–
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK, now we just recently HAD a problem with one of this client’s credit cards (it had expired).
And one of his accounts WAS due today.

Yet, the email didn’t LOOK right. Remind you, I had received an email only days earlier from Google because there really had been a problem.
The original from Google however did include:
Amount
AdWords Account Number

None of these were in this email.
As the account manager, we should have gotten an alert as well.
But it is still early, and I haven’t even had coffee yet.

I am still trying to analyze the email, as another one comes in, from the client’s Marketing Manager:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: AdWords-NoReplay [mailto:adwords-noreply@google.com]
Sent: 26 June 2008 15:28
To: [Client Name]
Subject: Please Update Your Billing Information.

————————————————–
Dear Advertiser,

We were unable to process your payment.
Your ads will be suspended soon unless we can process your payment.
To prevent your ads from being suspended, please update your payment information.

Please sign in
to your account at http://adwords.google.com/select/login,
and update your payment information.

We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.
Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords.
————————————-
The Google AdWords Team
————————————–
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now I’m awake.
Check out the Return Address: AdWords-NoReplay

I hovered over the link in the email, and there it was:
http://www.adwords.google.com.lkpos.cn/select/Login

We get phishing emails every day, most of the time from organizations we are in no way affiliated with.
But this was the first time we had received phishing attempts for one of our AdWord accounts.
But something tells me it won’t be the last one.

Tags: adwords google phishing

Date posted: Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 12:45 am (16 years, 4 months ago.)
Posted in: business mix
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