X

Spammers are invading your Google Calendar. Here's how to stop them

Spammers have found a new way to spam you through Google Calendar.

Katie Teague Writer II
Katie is a writer covering all things how-to at CNET, with a focus on Social Security and notable events. When she's not writing, she enjoys playing in golf scrambles, practicing yoga and spending time on the lake.
Expertise Personal Finance: Social Security and taxes
Katie Teague
gmail

Keep spammers out of Gmail and Google Calendar.

Derek Poore/CNET

Isn't spam in your Gmail inbox bad enough? Apparently not. Spammers are now invading your Google Calendar , using Gmail messages to trigger Google Calendar invitations. The spamming exploit takes advantage of the integration between Gmail and Calendar to send you fraudulent invitations that may contain a message with malicious links. Fortunately, you can prevent these spammers from blowing up your calendar through your Google Calendar settings.

Watch this: Here's how to keep spam out of your Google Calendar

Google Calendar has a setting that lets you see only the invitations you've responded to. So if there's a sneaky email lurking in your spam folder set to trigger a spammy calendar event, it won't show up on your calendar anymore. Instead, you'll accept all of your other meetings and events through Gmail, rather than automatically seeing them on your calendar. 

Here's how to get started.

spammers gmail

This is an example of a spammer in Google Calendar.

Screenshot by Katie Conner/CNET

1. Open Google Calendar on your desktop. 

2. Click the gear icon at the top right of the screen.

3. Click Settings.

4. Tap the reveal arrow next to General on the left-hand side of the screen to view Calendar options.

5. Tap Event settings.

6. Tap on Automatically add invitations event settings to the right, thenselect No, only show invitations to which I have replied.

That's it! Now Google Calendar will prevent spam mail from triggering invitations in your calendar.

Ready for more Google tips? See how this new Google feature can help you fight your Android app addiction.