Help! Phone is e-mailing spam to all my contacts.

[Benjamin]

So, I woke up this morning and grabbed my Droid off the charger and noticed something unusual immediately. I had more than 100 e-mails when I usually have 2-5. All of the messages in my Inbox were bounced email messages (i.e. mail deliever subsystem notices).

In short, my phone started e-mailing spam/virus links to everyone in my contacts sometime in the middle of the night. So far I just killed power to the phone to stop the emails, but I really don't know how to isolate the problems. My current plan is to power on and uninstall my apps in reverse order....

Help?

 

[Backnblack]

Is this your Gmail account? If so I would log on via PC and change the password...

 

[Benjamin]

Done.

Great suggestion, thanks. Prevents phone from sending any more while I fix it, but still no closer to the root of the problem....

 

[Backnblack]

What is the last few apps you installed? Any not from the market?

 

[Benjamin]

I've never installed anything that wasn't from the market.

Last few downloaded were some simple free games called SFCave, Papi Jump, and PapiPole. They all had full network access (ostensibly for reporting scores on their website)...

 

[GolfProRM]

Are you sure it's your phone that's sending them? They could just as easily be sent via an automated system that hacked your GMail. Also possible that someone is spoofing your e-mail address in the from box, so it looks like it's coming from a legit address - you then get all the bouncebacks.

 

[Benjamin]

Well, they're definitely coming from my account, since my Sent folder is now full of that evidence. I guess its possible its not the phone, but in the 5 years I've been using Gmail I've never come across this issue. Seems much more likely the phone is involved.

 

[zero7404]

im wondering how a hack could come into existence for the android platform in the first place ....
its more than likely a breached account. if you continue experiencing the problems after changed password ... then you should notify google immediately.

 

[dro]

Most likely your Gmail account is hacked and not your actual phone. Check the 'details' link for account activity at the bottom of your inbox. You may be able to spot something suspicious there, and it has a lot of useful information under the 'learn more' link as well.

 

[Benjamin]

Most likely your Gmail account is hacked and not your actual phone. Check the 'details' link for account activity at the bottom of your inbox. You may be able to spot something suspicious there, and it has a lot of useful information under the 'learn more' link as well.

Well, this would have been excellent this morning but is definitely good to know about. Between my home PC, my Droid, and logging in from several different computer labs on a college campus I had already moved the activity off the bottom of the register.

The problem was resolved by changing my Google password. Thank you all for the suggestions!

 

[aminaked]

This sort of problem might not be your phone's fault. If you login to gmail from a computer that has malware on it then the malware can use your gmail account to send out messages.

 

[superglen99]

Gmail was hacked. Its not your phone.

 

[tiggerxplur]

my girlfriend has this problem too but its her hotmail its never done this before she linked it to her phone (htc eris)

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[zero7404]

so gmail is no longer the free email to beat ..... thought that google was on their game ... guess not

 

[nogodiggydie]

You definitely sound like your Gmail has been compromised. It happened to me about a year ago. Change your password and also go into settings-forwarding and pop/imap to make sure your mail isn't being forwarded anywhere. I got hacked and they were forwarding my email to another address so they were able to get some of my other passwords. It was a mess for about a week.