Google is warning Gmail users about five significant scams and spams that people have experienced over the holiday season. The tech behemoth has warned consumers to stay away from scams involving gift cards and giveaways, charities, demographic targeting, subscription renewals, and cryptocurrency.
In a blog post, the search engine claimed that it shields users from over 15 billion unwelcome communications daily and stops more than 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware.
Further, a giveaway that provides more than what consumers would typically expect may be a fraud. Google also issued a warning on phishing scams and fraud involving charities. Both the scam victim and the charities that would gain from the actual donations are harmed by this.
Keep an eye out for phishing emails that use your name to target particular age groups or pose as local parent-teacher association (PTA) board members, warns the business.
Google also cautions about subscription renewal scams that pose as antivirus services to mislead users with the promise of more security.
Users must always check the sender's email in order to avoid such scams. Something might not be real if it seems to be wrong.
Speaking of frauds targeted at the cryptocurrency industry, the company warned that they frequently take many different forms. One of these forms involves threatening victims in an effort to extort money from them.
Meanwhile, multiple media reports claim that Google will implement a plan to improve performance that will result in the gradual layoff of 10,000 employees. According to reports, the decision was made in response to the pressure from an activist investment firm, unfavourable market conditions, and the need to cut costs. Employees with poor performance ratings will be laid off.
The ratings may also be used by the newly designed system to prevent incentives and stock awards from being given out. Despite Google's efforts to buck the trend, over 135,000 white-collar workers in the tech and new start - up sectors will be laid off by 2022.