Pixel Users Claim Phones Hacked While in Google Warranty Repair, Explicit Photos Stolen

Two users have so far reported that their Pixel phones were hijacked after it was sent to Google’s partnered Texas repair facility via the mail-in option.

Pixel Users Claim Phones Hacked While in Google Warranty Repair, Explicit Photos Stolen

Google has responded saying that they are investigating the claim

Highlights
  • Pixel phones hackers have accessed Gmail account
  • The hackers have even accessed Google Drive, Photos backup email account
  • Hackers reportedly posted nude photos on the victim's social media
Advertisement

Google Pixel users have reported that their phones were hacked after they sent them to Google's official partnered store for repair. Two users that have raised the alarm so far claim that their explicit photos were stolen and leaked. One of them claimed that a small amount of money was also transferred via PayPal and their email account was accessed. Both these hijack cases were reported after the users sent their Pixel phone to a Texas repair facility via the mail-in option. The users could not reset their devices because of the damage and the repair folks at the facility have been accused of taking advantage of that.

The first complaint came from game designer and author Jane McGonigal. She has advised her followers on Twitter to not send their Google phones in for warranty repair or replacement. McGonigal said that her phone was used by someone while in repair to log into her Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos backup email account, and even Dropbox. While checking her activity logs, she said that the hacker opened a bunch of selfies “hoping to find nudes”.

McGonigal claims that the photos they opened were of her “in bathing suits, sports bras, form-fitting dresses, and of stitches after surgery”. The hacker even reportedly deleted Google security notifications in her backup email accounts.

The hacker is said to have changed her Gmail settings to mark all security messages from Google as spam. Furthermore, she says Google support told her that her phone never reached the repair facility even though FedEx marked her courier as delivered.

Another similar instance was reported by a Pixel user on Reddit, and reported first by Android Police. This user claims to have sent the Pixel phone for repair at the Texas facility and it was hacked. The Reddit user said that nudes of his wife and him were posted on his wife's social media account. The hackers even tried to access her Google account to lock her out and used her PayPal to send someone $5 (roughly Rs. 450) as a test.

Google has responded to The Verge saying that they are investigating the claim. The company advises users to reset their devices before mailing it in for repair, but in both the cases mentioned above, the users said that it wasn't possible.


Will Snapdragon's new 2022 chips make it more prominent as a brand? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Google, Google Pixel
Vivo S12, Vivo S12 Pro, iQoo Neo 5S, iQoo Neo 5 SE Key Specifications Tipped Ahead of Launch
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »