I've had a Gmail account couple of years now and haven't gotten a message like that. It's possible that someone is trying to access your account. Or it could be as simple as someone trying to access THEIR account and have misspelled the name.

In either case, it's a good idea to change your password. Remember when you get an email like this, access the site via the address bar, that's to say type it in rather than clicking any link in the message. Create a "hard" password of 10 characters or so.

I don't know if there has been some sort of heightened attack or something. I received the email shown here, supposedly coming from Microsoft about me requesting some security code -- which I never did. I also got one like this a week or two ago.

The link to the 'live.com' site seems legit (it shows up that way when I hover the mouse over the link). So if it's someone trying to pull a fast one, I don't know how they're going about it, since I'd be going to the true 'live.com' site.

As I say, maybe there's a surge in attacks of late on Gmail, Hotmail (and Yahoo) for all we know (not that those attacks ever really die down).

:-/

Drat. The image I loaded into the above message didn't show up. :-(

Here's an external link.

Here is a link that might be useful: MS Message

*sigh*

That email sure sounds like a phishing scam to me. I hope that you didn't follow a link from that email to perform the password resets.

Phishing? for what? No information was asked for in either one. Anyway, in order to access either site, I have to use the new password, as neither of the old ones will still work. Just to be sure, maybe I'll change them again by going directly to my G-Mail accounts.

Also, neither of those accounts is linked to any financial institution or the like.

Both emails look legit to me. They're not asking for anything from you by reply email, the one from Microsoft is similar to the one from Google, by saying "Next time you go to log on, we're going to ask you an additional question for verification, here's the answer. But, if that wasn't you before, maybe someone is trying to hack your account, start an encrypted session at Live.com (an MS website) and change your password."

With one proviso - not2brite, it seems to indicate there's a Hungarian ISP involved in your message. Do you use EUMX for email? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding what it says.

I get messages like that from my bank when I try to log on from a new machine (a new PC, or a few months ago, a new smartphone). "We don't know if it's you, so we're sending an authorizing code in a message to someplace where WE KNOW you are. Take the code, and then try again, we'll be asking you to supply that number when you sign in, in addition to using your old password."

Found this in old post but it might still be pertinent...
"PS: This could have been triggered by a change in the Verizon network configuration."

That's from http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gmail/YGz2xrqfwmg

I certainly don't know, but it sounds plausible to me.

Just to be doubly sure, I changed the passwords for my two accounts again, signing in directly to G-Mail. I signed into my husband's account, using the new password that I had made when I followed the link, and it opened that account. No, I really do believe it was a legitimate message from G-Mail, and chuggerguy's link certainly does sound plausible, since "myvzw.com" is certainly Verizon. In fact, when I access my Verizon account online, it is via "myvzw.com".

I notice that the "attempted access" originated in San Francisco, and I live in the East. Yes, I have a Verizon phone synced to ONE (1) account only, and not the two accounts where the attempted access took place. I don't access my e-mail via my phone, anyway, so if it's locked out, it really doesn't matter. At least I know others have been receiving similar or identical messages.

As I said in a previous post, the important thing to do is change your Gmail password by typing gmail.com into your browser's address bar. Never, ever click on a link in a email for anything like this. By doing that, even if the email is a scam, spam, phishing attempt, etc. you won't get yourself into trouble.

As for trying to figure out why, it's an exercise in futility.

Also, as I previously suggested used Google's additional layer of security for your Gmail account. That will make it all but hack proof.

(Just a quick answer to snidely's question to me: yes, EuMX.net, one of my email services, is headquartered in Hungary.)

mike kaiser,

A hacker can start an https session to break into a gmail account just as easily as not. I don't think it provides any security against hackers, it just prevents interception (by using encryption) when the session is on a non-secure network. For people on a secure/home network, no effect. I'm not certain and the preceding could be wrong.

It's a good practice anyhow to have nothing in your email account that you wouldn't want in the hands of someone with bad intentions. That way, there's no reason to have anxiety about unauthorized access. You change your password, or in more serious cases, you set up a new email address, and move on with your life. People get so dramatic and fearful about such things, an email break-in isn't like a home invasion by a gang of 5 lawless bikers.

Google allows you to tie your Gmail account to a cell phone. When you log in with your user name and password, Google sends a text message with a code to that predetermined cell phone. You then enter that code to access your account. You have the option to set a cookie which will register that computer for 30 days.

So, without the security code or physical access to the computer, it's difficult to "hack" into a Gmail account. Is it impossible or improbable? I'm not a hacker.

It's still important to use hard passwords and use care when answering any account recovery security questions. Anyone who knows you, is likely to know where you were born or the name of your dog. Lie or deliberately misspell words. New York City becomes, for example, Neu Yerk Dity.

Read here. Could be legit or maybe not. Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: gmail virus

There was no attachment to the message I received.

Anyway, all three accounts have new, long, indecipherable passwords, and all seems well.

OK Mike, got it.

Sounds your describing a double password log in, something I wouldn't want (especially if one is a machine generated numeric sequence). But, to each his own, it's good they offer it for people who prefer that.

With a reasonably strong (but even short) password, and by following good practices to keep nothing of importance in an email account, I'm not sure why two passwords would be necessary. What is being protected?