Is your cloud full or is that a phishing scam?

You get an email or a text that seems to be from Google, Apple, or Microsoft. The message looks professional, with all the right logos and fonts. It says your cloud storage is full and you need to “upgrade now” to avoid losing your files. Your mind races—you’ve been saving a lot of photos and documents lately, so it’s totally possible you’ve run out of space. You see a convenient link to upgrade, but something in the back of your mind feels off. Your scam-radar is tingling. Is this a legitimate alert, or is it a classic phishing scam?

It’s a great question, because these scams are designed to be as convincing as possible. They prey on the fact that many of us are constantly using cloud services and might genuinely need more storage. The goal is to get you to click on that link, which leads to a fake website that looks exactly like the real one. From there, they can steal your login credentials or, even worse, your credit card information.

So, how can you be sure the message is the real deal?

Spotting the Phishing Red Flags

Even the most sophisticated scams often have a few clues that give them away. Train your eyes to spot these warning signs:

• The Sender’s Email Address: This is the first thing you should check. Look closely at the email address. A scammer’s email might look something like [email protected] or [email protected]. A legitimate email from Apple will end in @apple.com, and a real one from Google will end in @google.com. The extra words or a different domain are a dead giveaway.
• A Sense of Urgency or Threat: Phishing emails often use high-pressure language to make you act without thinking. They might say your account will be deleted, your files will be lost forever, or your access will be suspended if you don’t “act now.” Legitimate companies typically give you time to address an issue.
• Generic Greetings: Does the email address you as “Dear User” or “Customer”? A real message from your cloud provider will almost always use your full name.
• Suspicious Links: This is a big one. DO NOT CLICK THE LINK! Instead, hover your mouse over the link in the email. Does the URL that appears in the corner of your screen match the official website (e.g., https://drive.google.com or https://icloud.com)? If it looks like a jumbled mess of letters, a different website, or has a few extra words, it’s a scam.

How to Verify Without the Link

The safest way to handle a message like this is to bypass the email completely.

1. Go Directly to the Source: Open your web browser and manually type in the official URL for your cloud service (e.g., icloud.com, drive.google.com, or onedrive.live.com).
2. Log In: Log in to your account the way you normally would.
3. Check Your Storage: Once logged in, you can easily check your storage status on your account dashboard. The information you see there is the most accurate. If your storage isn’t full, you know the email was a fake.

By being aware of the red flags and taking the extra step to verify the information directly, you can protect yourself from cloud storage scams and other types of phishing. Don’t let a scammer’s false alarm steal your peace of mind—or your personal information.