New AI-driven scam calls are putting billions of Gmail users at risk - Here's why even experts are concerned

A new wave of AI-powered scams is targeting Gmail users, and even seasoned professionals are barely managing to avoid them. These phishing attacks, mimicking Google support, are becoming way more sophisticated, and you know it is serious when industry experts sound the alarm. Sam Mitrovic, a Microsoft solutions consultant, recently shared how he almost fell victim to an extremely convincing scam call.

It all started with a seemingly routine notification about a Gmail account recovery. However, Mitrovic ignored it, only to receive a follow-up call 40 minutes later from someone claiming to be Google support. The voice - conversing in an American accent - asked Mitrovic if he had logged in from Germany and claimed an attacker had been accessing his account for a week. Though Mitrovic avoided the trap, he made sure to mention how polished and realistic the scam was, even spoofing Google’s business numbers (in Sam's case, it was an Australian number) to add more credibility.

Garry Tan, venture capitalist and founder of Y Combinator, also warned of a similar phishing attempt. In his case, the scam claimed that a family member had submitted a death certificate to recover his account. The AI-driven caller asked Tan to verify his identity in a way designed to make him panic, just as Mitrovic experienced.

These scams are clearly exploiting AI’s ability to simulate real conversations and fake legitimate Google processes. The attackers are even using tools like Google Forms to make their scams seem more authentic, tricking users into believing the threat is real. Both Mitrovic and Tan warn that anyone, regardless of their tech experience, could fall for these advanced tactics - given the wrong time or the wrong scenario. Plus, these scams are only expected to get harder to detect in the future as AI progresses.

To tackle these threats, Google has partnered with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and DNS Research Federation to launch the Global Signal Exchange. This platform will help share real-time scam intelligence across sectors. Additionally, Google’s Advanced Protection Program now supports passkeys, which adds that extra layer of security that could make the difference between you losing your account or keeping it.