Gmail Account temporarily disabled

How to fix and recover Gmail Account which is temporarily disabled for alleged spam or whatever reason.

In short: to verify that your Gmail is not spam, voice call is now used. Read on below..

Update 20 Jan 2010: Exactly four days after my Gmail account being temporarily disabled, it’s now active again. A email notice was sent to me this morning:

“We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. The issue you described should now be resolved.

If you are still having trouble accessing your account and you still have access to the email address you used to create your account, please reset your password by visiting here. If you aren’t receiving the password-assistance email, please check your inbox for an email from accounts-noreply@google.com.

If you don’t have access to the primary email address on the account or have forgotten the answer to your security question, please fill out the form.”

Well, I can access my Gmail again (fatihsyuhud-at-gmail-com] which used to be my main email for correspondence with many companies and friends. Not now. I have moved to another email, my old one in yahoo. Gmail just gave me a traumatic experience which force me NOT to use it again as my reliable free-email partner.

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I am shocked this morning when I found out my main Gmail account disabled despite temporarily. Here’s the notice from Gmail when I tried to login into my Gmail account:

Account temporarily disabled
We apologize for the inconvenience. Accounts may be disabled because of a perceived violation of either the Google Terms of Service or product-specific Terms of Service. Learn more

For immediate assistance, enter your mobile phone number below and we’ll send you a text message with a verification code.

I tried to follow the instruction by entering my mobile phone number. Strangely enough, no text message being sent to my cellphone. I repeated the process using the 0062 (contry code) or without 0062. All to no avail.

Update: Voice call is now being used as Gmail verification. It works better than the text one.

What the “perceived violation” is not clear. As far as I am concerned I did nothing wrong with my Gmail. The probability is that (i) my email gets virus which has used my email to automatically send email to multiple email addresses as mentioned here:

In an effort to fight spam and prevent abuse, Google will temporarily disable your account if you send messages to more than 500 recipients or if you send a large number of undeliverable messages. If you use a POP or IMAP client (Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail, e.g.), you may only send a message to 100 people at a time. Your account should be re-enabled within 24 hours.

If it’s the case, how to keep your Gmail secure in the future? Here’s an advice from Google:

* Update your secondary email address and your security question. This will help you recover your account if you ever lose access to it. Make sure that you have access to the email address listed as your secondary, and the answer to your security question is easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess.
* Use a secure connection when signing in. In your Gmail settings, select ‘Always use HTTPS.’ This setting protects your information from being stolen when you’re signing in to Gmail on a public wireless network, like at a cafe or hotel.

You should also be sure to:

* Never tell anyone your password; if you do tell someone, change it as soon as possible.
* Use a strong password, and don’t write it down or send it via email.
* Run scans and change your password immediately after noticing any changes in your account that you didn’t initiate.
* Always sign out of your account when you’re using public computers. Just click Sign out at the top right corner of the screen when you’re done using your Google Account.
* Clear forms, passwords, cache, and cookies in your browser on a regular basis, especially on a public computer.

If the first step does not work, i.e. there’s no text message from Gmail to you mobile phone like what I’ve experienced, try the second step by reporting your issue by going to this link .

You can also contact support to restore access to your account without using a phone, click here.

Lessons learnt:

1. Always forward the important data in your Gmail into other email as well, say Yahoomail or self-hosted email if you have any.
2. Keep your main Gmail, the one you use for all important communication, away from public eye. Don’t put it on your website / weblog.
3. Don’t use your main Gmail’s email to join a public mailing list.