How to spot a fake email
before you tap.

How to tell a fake email from a real one

1. The name and the address do not match. The name says your bank; the address belongs to a domain you have never heard of.
2. The address is a look-alike. Gmail's own example is the letter O replaced with the number 0.
3. It sounds urgent, or too good to be true: an account about to close, a payment that failed, a prize.
4. It asks for private details such as a password, a PIN or a card number.
5. It wants you to click a link or download a file.

Google's advice is plain: never respond to a request for private information by email, and do not enter your password after clicking a link in a message. Go to the website directly instead. Gmail will never ask for your password by email.

Gmail scam emails: what to do on iPhone

1. Open the email, but do not reply and do not open links or attachments.
2. At the top right, tap More, then tap Report spam.
3. To stop that sender for good, tap More again, then Block followed by the sender's name. Their future emails go to Spam.

Gmail also has Report phishing, which Google's help describes on a computer: open the message, click More next to Reply, then Report phishing. When you report an email, Google receives a copy of it.

If you already clicked

1. If you only opened the link and typed nothing, close the page.
2. If you entered a password, change it now on the real website, which you open yourself rather than from the email.
3. For a Google Account, check recent security activity at myaccount.google.com/notifications and turn on 2-Step Verification.
4. If you gave card or bank details, call your bank on the number printed on your card.

Emails that may be fake, flagged for you

Phone Cleaner's Email cleaner marks some Gmail messages as "may be fake" and says why in plain words. It looks at who sent the email: a sender name that claims a well-known brand from a domain that is not the brand's, a domain that imitates a brand's, an email that failed Gmail's sender check, replies that would go to a free-mail address, and a subject that pushes you to pay or sign in.

It is a hint, not a verdict. It does not inspect links or attachments, it can miss a fake email, and it can flag a real one, so check before you act. If an email is fine, tap It's genuine and that sender is no longer marked.

Step 1 of 4On the Email tab, a card says 3 emails may be fake and which brands they pretend to be. Tap it.

Step 2 of 4Every email says why it was flagged: a brand's name sent from a domain that isn't the brand's, or a failed Gmail sender check. If one is real, tap It's genuine. To act on the others, tap Select.

Step 3 of 4Two picked. Tap Report spam, or Delete to move them to Gmail's Trash.

Step 4 of 4They move to Gmail's Spam folder, and Gmail learns to catch emails like them. Tap Report spam.