I wrote recently that there have been a number of emails going out to AdWords account owners of late supposedly from Google, saying that “your account balance is running low” or that “we were unable to process your payment”
DO NOT click this link – if you think the account might be running low, log into your account via the AdWords main page (www.google.com/adwords) but do not click this link.
Sadly a client did click the link in the email on Friday & they’ve been hit with $250 of fraudulent charges. We’ve asked Google to refund this – I’ll let you know how we go!
It could have been much worse. The client realized his mistake & cancelled the credit card linked to the AdWords account… the fraudster had set a daily budget of $9800, so if the credit card had had a big limit this could’ve been ugly.
Lesson: don’t click links, ask your account manager to check if you’re unsure and at a minimum, log into your account via the web, not via an email link.
