GOLDEN RULES:
- Slow it down - Scams are often designed to create a sense of urgency. Take time to ask questions and think it through.
- Spot check - Do your research to double check the details you are getting. Does what they’re telling you make sense?
- Stop! Don’t send - No reputable person or agency will ever demand payment or your personal information on the spot.
“Help! I can’t remember my Gmail address. What was my password anyway?”
Looking for Gmail Tech Support? The official way to obtain support for Gmail is through Gmail’s Help Center site. Be aware of third-party websites or pop-ups that claim to offer technical support for Gmail and other Google products.
These contacts and their websites have no affiliation to Google and may claim to provide password reset assistance as well as other Gmail related support services. In addition, these sites may require the submission of payment for their support services. Google does not charge users to recover their account credentials or change their password.
In other cases, these websites may call you and claim that your Google Account was hijacked or that your computer has a virus or other malware on it. Google does not provide phone based support for Gmail and these calls are not affiliated with Google.
These contacts may deceive you into providing your username and password (account credentials) which may result in your account being compromised and “unlocked” for a fee. Do not provide your account credentials to anyone purporting to be from Google.
If you've already encountered a Gmail Tech Support Scam, and or have sent a payment, you can report the scam to the appropriate authorities.
If the correspondence you received came from a Gmail address, you can report the Gmail account to help Google take appropriate action on accounts involved in this scam.