Google doesnt delete your Gmail accounts and something about phishing

By | May 3, 2007
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I just got an email from Google today asking me to reset my password for a long forgotten (and abandoned) Gmail account. I was amongst the first users of Gmail when it first came out, and that was a long time ago. In the email I was given a link and after clicking on that link, I was taken to a page in Google with an option to change my password.

Now why is this a pleasant surprise?

My email has not been logged into for almost 3 years!

In fact, I had long given up on it for dead, and thought Google would have deleted it by now. After having changed my password and logging back in, it’s a strange feeling I get, as if I’m stepping into a long abandoned crypt.

So what was in the dark, dusty, cobweb ridden interior?

Spam…spam…and more spam, mostly in the Bulk Mail. Over 500 in 30 days. Even an email supposedly from PayPal, asking me to update my details. Remember – PayPal never asks for you to update your details in an email with a link. If in doubt, always manually go to the PayPal website itself by typing in the URL … login, and only then update your details there, but never do it through a link.

Unlike the above example with my Gmail, there are 4 reasons why I clicked on the link to take me to the Google password reset page:

  1. It took me to an SSL encrypted page (with https) before the main URL – Google.com
  2. There was no money involved. 🙂
  3. If you access your Gmail account remotely to change your password, you would be required to key in your old password. In this case, I have no recollection of it; the password reset page did not ask for my old password – which was good news.
  4. Afterwards, I changed my password one more time by manually accessing my Gmail account remotely.

Phishing is a serious problem these days for the unwary. The PayPal website has a good article on how to spot phishing.

I think my experience here shows that Google never deletes your email account, but if you want to let your email address somehow get into the hands of all the spammers out there, then this is a passive but sure way to go about it, lol.

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