The Window Is the Trap
Most people have been taught to look at the address bar before they type a password. If it says google.com or microsoft.com, they figure they are safe. Scammers have a way around that check now.
Security researchers reported this summer that attackers are using a fake sign-in window to steal Microsoft 365 logins. You click a document, a shared file, or a "Sign in with Microsoft" button, and a login window pops up. It looks like the one you have used a hundred times. It has the right logo and even an address bar that shows the real website. None of that is real. The window is drawn on the page. Anything you type into it goes to the scammer.
The Address Bar in the Popup Is Fake
Your browser already has an address bar. It is the long strip at the top, where the website name usually sits. That strip is the one that tells the truth.
The popup has a second address bar inside it, and that is the one that says google.com or microsoft.com. That one is fake. It is painted onto the window. The scammer can put any name they want there.
So look at the strip at the top of your browser, the one that was already there before the popup appeared. If it does not say google.com or microsoft.com, you are not on Google or Microsoft. You are still on the scammer's page. Anything you type in that window goes to them.
The One Rule to Remember
If a Google or Microsoft login pops up on a page you are already looking at, look at the address bar at the very top of your browser, not the one inside the popup. If that top bar does not say google.com or microsoft.com, close it. Do not type your password.
If your password manager does not fill the form in, that is a warning, not a glitch. Share that at your next staff meeting. It takes thirty seconds.
If a surprise login popup already felt off, change that password and let WolfTech know. The sooner we hear about it, the less there is to clean up.
How WolfTech Helps
We can set up a password manager for your team. It will not fill in a fake page, which is often the first clue that something is wrong. We also train staff on what these fake windows look like, so they catch the moment something is off instead of finding out weeks later.
If you would like us to walk your team through this, contact us and we will take care of it.
