Gmail Adds Blue Verified Checkmarks To Protect Users From Scammers

Google is adopting a new identity system in Gmail that will put a checkmark next to a sender's email address. The blue checkmark, which looks identical to the one you see on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, has been developed to help users deduce if the sender is a legitimate business or just a scammer. The blue verified badges for Gmail have already started rolling out and will be available for paid Google Workspace users as well as every person with an ordinary Google account.

The new email checkmark system in Gmail is part of Google's Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) initiative that was launched two years. Instead of using generic profile avatars for email senders, Google started asking businesses and organizations to verify their identity and get a special profile picture representing the brand logo.

This was done so that users can easily identify if the sender is a trusted entity, like a banking institution or academic institution. Companies that have already been BIMI-verified will get their blue badge soon. Adding a checkmark for the email address is essentially an add-on visual identifier, one which builds on the trust factor that the blue tick symbol has built over the years on the internet.

Scams and phishing attacks pulled off through emails end up causing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost money each year. Even an organization like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is not immune to email hacks. Back in 2021, the FBI admitted that hackers compromised its email servers and started sending spam messages that asked the reader to pay a small fee so that the government can release funds owed to them.

Google

Google's BIMI and checkmark initiatives aren't fool-proof, but they solve the problem of spoofing to a large extent. Google will only grant brand logo avatars (above) and a blue checkmark to applicants that have already implemented the Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC ) and have also been cleared by external certification authorities like Entrust or DigiCert.

Haha 😎

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2023

Elon Musk, on the other hand, thinks Google's blue checkmark system for email addresses in Gmail is funny. Twitter, which is now owned by Musk, was the platform that really popularized the trend of verified accounts with a distinct blue checkmark. That sign stood for authenticity and credibility. But under Musk's regime, that checkmark has become a common commodity that any online troll can buy for as little as $8 per month.