Is Your Calendar Lying to You?
If you see an event on your Google Calendar that you don't recognize, don't assume you’re just losing your memory, it could very well be spam.
Recently, hackers have turned to "Calendar Phishing" to bypass Gmail's spam filters. Because Google Calendar and Gmail operate as separate services, a malicious invite can often land on your schedule even if the original email was flagged as spam.
Whatever you do, don't engage with suspicious events. Your goal is to remove the entry safely and prevent future occurrences. To do this, you must report the event as spam rather than simply declining it.
What to do:
- Do Not Interact! If you see an unfamiliar or suspicious event, do not click "Accept," "Maybe," or "Decline," as this confirms your email is active to the sender and this is exactly what they want!
- Click once on the suspicious event in your calendar. Click the three vertical dots (options) in the top right corner of the event pop-up and select "Report as spam". This deletes the entry from your calendar (you may need to scroll to the bottom of the "Copy to" list).
How to keep from happening in the future:
- To prevent future spam, click the Gear Icon (Settings) at the top right of your calendar and select Settings.
- On the left-hand sidebar, go to General > Event settings.
- Find the "Add invitations to my calendar" dropdown menu and select "Only if the sender is known".
Note: You can choose a more restrictive setting, "When I respond to the invitation in email", but be careful with this setting. If you miss or don’t receive the email, the meeting won't appear on your calendar.
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