Search Marketing and Internet Marketing Blog Online

There have recently been an increased number of phishing attempts targeted at Google Adwords advertisers. I received an e-mail from Google regarding the issue and thought I would pass along the tips to those folks who may have not received it or may have overlooked it.

There are reports of phishing attempts that falsely appear to be from adwords-noreply@google.com. These fraudulent emails ask users to update their billing information, take action on a disapproved ad, edit their account, or accept new AdWords terms and conditions. Please remember that Google's AdWords team will never send an unsolicited message asking for your password or other sensitive information by email or through a link.

Here are a few additional tips on how to avoid phishing attempts:

- Don't reply to or click on links in emails that ask for personal, financial, or account information.
- Check the message headers. The From: address and the Return-path should reference the same source.
- Instead of clicking the links in emails, go to the websites directly by typing the web address into your browser, cut and paste or use bookmarks.
- If on a secure page, look for "https" at the begging of the URL and the padlock icon in the browser.
- Keep your computer's antivirus, spyware, browser, and security patches up to date and regularly run system scans.
- Review your accounts regularly and check for unauthorized activity.
- Use a browser that has a phishing filter (Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Opera).