Help Guide: Fake Calendar Invites from Email Scams

What’s Happening

You might receive an email or calendar invite that says something like:

“Important security alert – click to verify your account”

“Your password expires today”

“Claim your prize here”

These are phishing scams.

They use fake calendar invites or auto-added events to trick you into clicking malicious links.

Even if you didn’t click anything, the event may automatically appear on your calendar.

Step 1: Do Not Click the Link

• Do not click any “Verify,” “Confirm,” or “Cancel” links in the invite.

• Do not reply or forward the event.

• Simply delete it.

Step 2: Remove the Event from Your Calendar

Google Calendar

1. Open Google Calendar.

2. Click on the suspicious event.

3. Choose More actions → Report as spam or Remove from calendar.

   • If you only see “Delete,” that’s fine — just delete it.

? [Image 2: Google Calendar event menu showing “Report as spam” option]

Step 3: Stop Auto-Added Events (Google Calendar)

1. Click the gear icon ⚙️ → Settings

2. On the left, choose Event settings

3. Find Automatically add invitations

   • Change it to: “No, only show invitations to which I have responded”

4. Scroll down to View options

   • Uncheck Show declined events

? [Image 3: Google Calendar settings showing ‘Automatically add invitations’ dropdown set to “No, only show invitations I have responded to”]

Step 4: Mark the Email as Spam (Gmail or Outlook)

Gmail

1. Open the email containing the invite.

2. Click More (⋮) → Report phishing.

3. Delete the message.

Outlook

1. Right-click the message.

2. Choose Report → Phishing or Junk → Phishing.

3. Delete it.

Step 5: Stay Safe in the Future

• Be skeptical of calendar invites from unknown senders.

• Check who the event is from — if it’s not someone you know, delete it.

• Do not click links that say your account needs “verification.”

• Keep two-step verification turned on for your email account.

• Report recurring issues to your tech department.