Goal of The Weather Report e-Mail Hack?

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A user reported that their old Gmail account was hacked, resulting in ongoing email forwarding to their new account. They receive strange emails, including weather reports, which may be attempts by the hacker to bypass spam filters and gauge whether the new account is active. The discussion highlights the importance of securing new accounts with two-step verification, as the hacker is likely aware of the new email address and may attempt to hack it as well. The emails could contain embedded pixels to track whether they are opened, potentially allowing the hacker to determine the account's status. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the need for vigilance and enhanced security measures following a hack.
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Hey, a month or two ago, my old Gmail account was hacked. The whole situation was/is pretty identically to what this thread describes very well:
https://support.google.com/accounts/thread/42850129?hl=en

I've written off the old account and am no longer attempting to recover it. But the emails still forward to my new account, and I'm going crazy with curiosity. Every day or so, I get an email that a new source was granted access to my hacked account, followed by a random weather-report-style email.
1606727945536.png

1606727996823.png


Here's another example:
1606728147060.png

Other email texts include:

Dear Marie Ross !
How do you do? Marie Ross. In Wednesday will have sunny partly
and

Dear Russell Allen !
Good morning Russell Allen. In Friday will have rainySent from my iPhone

You get the picture.

Forget recovering the account: does anyone have any idea what the end-game is?
 
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mbrmbrg said:
does anyone have any idea what the end-game is?
I don't, but just wanted to say that please secure your new account with two-step verification — in Gmail, when email forwarding is active, a notice is shown on the top of the inbox. Apparently the hacker knows that you have another account, and will try to hack that one too.
 
mbrmbrg said:
Hey, a month or two ago, my old Gmail account was hacked. The whole situation was/is pretty identically to what this thread describes very well:
https://support.google.com/accounts/thread/42850129?hl=en

I've written off the old account and am no longer attempting to recover it. But the emails still forward to my new account, and I'm going crazy with curiosity. Every day or so, I get an email that a new source was granted access to my hacked account, followed by a random weather-report-style email.
View attachment 273421
View attachment 273422

Here's another example:
View attachment 273423
Other email texts include:and
You get the picture.

Forget recovering the account: does anyone have any idea what the end-game is?
Maybe the weather report looking emails are designed to fool spam detectors. Small talk about the weather is probably really common, so such an email would be hard to detect as something sent by a bot.

Emails can have 'pixels' embedded in them so that the sender can detect if the email was checked. If they can get these emails through spam filters, they can use them to try to guess if an email account is being used or has been abandoned.
 
Wrichik Basu said:
I don't, but just wanted to say that please secure your new account with two-step verification — in Gmail, when email forwarding is active, a notice is shown on the top of the inbox. Apparently the hacker knows that you have another account, and will try to hack that one too.
Thanks! My guess is that my current email address gets these emails due to forwarding that I set up ages ago, but you're right: two-step verification is definitely prudent.
 
Jarvis323 said:
Maybe the weather report looking emails are designed to fool spam detectors. Small talk about the weather is probably really common, so such an email would be hard to detect as something sent by a bot.

Emails can have 'pixels' embedded in them so that the sender can detect if the email was checked. If they can get these emails through spam filters, they can use them to try to guess if an email account is being used or has been abandoned.
...They can then post auto generated comments on news sites, you-tube, and social media, as well as use it to send phishing emails to unsuspecting victims (bypassing spam detection), including your contacts.

Mmmmm... Interesting. Thanks!
 
mbrmbrg said:
My guess is that my current email address gets these emails due to forwarding that I set up ages ago
I am not questioning that, but the point is, the hacker definitely knows now that you have another account. He will surely try to hack this one too. Beware!
 
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