Spam emails are one of the most annoying things about modern technology and communication. Not only do they fill up our inboxes with unwanted messages and offers, sometimes cybercriminals send fake emails pretending to be from big brands and companies in an attempt to trick people into giving away sensitive information. This can often lead to people losing considerable amounts of money when it gives the fraudsters access to your bank details or shopping accounts.
The problem has got bad enough that Amazon even sent out official email warnings to Prime subscribers in July warning them to be vigilant after a rise in dodgy fake emails pretending to be from Amazon, which claimed you had a fee to pay. Victims of this scam entered their details to verify their Amazon account, unknowingly giving away login and card payment information in the process.
To try and counter this worrying trend, Google has announced it is expanding its sender verification system to the iPhone and Android versions of the incredibly popular Gmail app. This comes in the form of blue identity verification checkmarks next to the sender’s name in the email, indicating the message really is from that brand or company.
The blue checkmark was made popular by Twitter, which used to only give them out to celebrities, journalists, brands and other accounts associated with a certain person or organisation. This system worked well as it showed that account was verified and really was the legitimate person or company sending out tweets.
Elon Musk then bought Twitter and ruined this system by taking away people’s checkmarks and turning the blue ticks into a paid subscriber indicator. Now, checkmarks on X only show that someone is paying for Twitter Premium.
Gmail’s use of blue checkmarks is like the original Twitter method. A blue checkmark next to emails from companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon shows you those communications are legitimate. It means if you get an email from ‘Apple’ but there’s no checkmark, you can exercise some caution and check to see if the email could be spam.
Google’s system is called brand indicators for message identification, or BIMI for short. It was first announced back in 2021 but is only coming to mobile versions of Gmail soon. In its official announcement, Google urged firms to set up BIMI so they can take advantage of the blue checkmarks. This will be shown in the form of either a “verified brand logo” or the blue tick.
It’s only a small change, but if more companies use this system it could curb the number of people who fall victim to email fraud. Google notes the ticks will only show up on the iOS and Android Gmail app, and said apps such as Apple Mail will not show them.
