Google targeted in phishing scam

GOOGLE'S GMAIL has been targeted in what the search engine outfit claims is an "industry-wide phishing scheme".

Google said that it had safeguarded the 500 affected accounts.

Two lists have been posted online detailing more than 30,000 names and passwords from email providers, including Yahoo and AOL. It had been reported that all the details were those of Hotmail users but it turns out that some were Google and Yahoo users.

Google said that it had found a third list with more Gmail accounts listed on it.

The addresses were harvested in a phishing scam.

Google said that as soon as it learned of the attack, it forced password resets on the affected accounts. It added that it would continue to force password resets on additional accounts as it becomes aware of them.

The firm told the BBC that the scam was not a breach of Gmail security but rather a phishing scam that got users to give their personal information to hackers. µ