January 24, 2025
Fake Google Calendar Invites – How to Spot and Avoid Phishing Scams

CyberFlow’s specialists in cybersecurity for business have discovered a new type of phishing scam: fake Google Calendar invites. This type of scam is hazardous because most people open meeting invites and click on the link to accept or decline it without too much thought.
This is exactly what cybercriminals count on: the fact that you are convinced that their message is just another Google notification. Let us explain how to detect it and what you can do to protect yourself from receiving such phishing emails.
Hackers Learned to Impersonate Google Calendar Notifications
The problem with emails containing Calendar invite malware is that they look very similar to the genuine notifications Google sends. Also, the Google Calendar phishing email attacks have just started, so email client antivirus software has not yet blacklisted the senders’ IP addresses.
Thus, the heading and title of the mail are what you usually see in a regular Google Calendar notification for a new meeting invite. The malicious element is hidden in the body of the email.
Fake Google Calendar invites include the usual app file indicating the time and date of the meeting, and also a link. This link is made to look like another Google app – Forms or Drawing most commonly. However, this is where the phishing attack actually starts.
What Happens When You Click on a Google Calendar Malware Link?
Google Calendar phishing attacks first take users to a page when they have to click on a ReCAPTCHA or Support button. Once they do this, they are directed to the actual phishing website.
This website looks like a cryptocurrency mining or Bitcoin support site. Here, the user has to go through an authentication process that requests a lot of data:
- Personal identification data
- Online payment details
- Login data.
These data end up in the hackers’ hands and can be used for anything from identity theft to emptying the user’s bank accounts or committing various financial frauds in their name.
How to Protect Yourself Against Google Calendar Phishing Emails
So far, over 300 business entities report having been infected by Google Calendar malware, so the main thing everyone wants is a solution to prevent employees from getting these fake emails.
In this situation, vulnerability testing services have a limited scope, because the success of the attack depends mainly on the victim’s cybersecurity awareness and ability to distinguish a phishing email from a genuine one.
For now, the best solution is to activate “Know Senders” in Google Calendar. Here are the steps:
- Save all your contacts’ email addresses in Google
- On your mobile phone, open the Calendar app
- At the top left, tap on Menu and select Settings
- Tap General -> Adding invitations -> Add invitations to my calendar
- Select the option Only if the sender is known.
Once you take these steps, you will receive an alert anytime someone not among your contacts sends you a meeting invitation.
Protect Your Business from Cyber Threats with CyberFlow!
The best solution, for protecting your IT systems from fake Google Calendar invites and other hacking attacks is choosing CyberFlow as your cybersecurity provider. Our comprehensive solutions include email security and 24/7 monitoring to detect and stop any attack as soon as it is initiated.
Contact us today to build a tailored cybersecurity strategy for your computers and data!
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