This is How Hackers Are Using Google Translate To Steal Your Data

The latest tool used by hackers is easy to detect on desktop, but mobile users will have a hard time figuring it out

Phishing has been the go-to practice for hackers to steal data. 

(Photo: iStock)

As digital privacy becomes a myth, hackers are exploring innovative ways of entering into our account and stealing data, which can be invaluable to them. We’ve heard about spam mails that carry malicious content, when clicked, can open up your details to the hacker but now there’s a new method in town, and people need to be careful about it.

According to ZDNet report, the latest tool used by hackers to phish into account is Google Translate.

No, this is not a joke, they really are using a loophole created by Google for its Translate feature and it’s possible that users might fall into the trap without knowing about its consequences.

The report states that hacker groups are sending phishing mails via a fake uniform resource locator or URL of a website page through Google Translate, using the newly generated Google Translate link.

This URL is then used inside the phishing mail, instead of putting website links of popular platforms like Facebook or Netflix.

Phishing is basically when hacker creates a fake page and tricks her/her targets into giving away their details by clicking on the links attached in the mail. 

The report goes to suggest that whenever a user clicks on the links inside the phishing emails, they're redirected to the Google Translate portal, where the phishing page loads with the regular Google Translate toolbar at the top of the page, which feels like how a regular website would open with the feature.

Apple.com or Apple.com, how can you spot the difference between the fake and the original? (Photo: iStock)

Click on these links and you might end up sharing details about your social media or even bank account and we know how that turns out.

However, the report does hint that desktop users might be able to get off, with possible signs of a fake link visible near the URL. For mobile users, they might have a hard time deciphering the nature of the mail, which is why next time you’re getting a Google Translate URL, make sure you open it on a desktop and not a mobile to avoid getting phished.

Google, for its part, quoted in the report, has asked users to complain about such malicious links, which will then be removed from Google Translate as well.