A PHISHING attack that compromised the security of up to 10,000 Hotmail e-mail accounts has also affected users of Google's Gmail service, it has emerged.

Microsoft confirmed earlier this week that the personal details of up to 10,000 Hotmail users were acquired during a recent phishing attack. The company advised users of the service to change their security settings after passwords were posted on a website on October 1st.

Phishing schemes are a common method used by hackers to trick people into sharing sensitive information.

Following reports that other e-mail services were affected, Google issued a statement confirming it had become aware of a phishing scheme through which hackers gained user information for a "small number" of Gmail accounts. The company did not say how many Irish users' accounts had been affected.

"As soon as we learned of the attack, we forced password resets on the affected accounts. We will continue to force password resets on additional accounts if we become aware of them," a spokesman said.

Google insisted this was not a breach of Gmail security, but rather a scam to trick users into giving away their personal information.

Once attackers gain user credentials, they can easily access and modify the affected accounts. This may include changing a user's contact list, altering the inbox, or even deleting the account.

The spokesman encouraged users to be careful when asked to share their personal information online.