Knowledge Base: Stopping Junk Calendar Invites
The Issue: Why am I seeing fake meetings on my calendar?
You may have noticed unexpected meetings appearing on your Google Calendar—often with suspicious titles like "Urgent: Security Alert" or "Invoice Processed." Even though our security filters catch the emails associated with these invites and move them to Spam, the events themselves are still appearing on your calendar grid.
Why is this happening? (It's a Google Issue)
This is a structural flaw in how Google’s services communicate with each other. Google’s Calendar and Gmail operate on two different "tracks":
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The "Scraper" is too fast: When an invite hits your account, Google’s Calendar service scans the data and immediately places a placeholder on your grid so you don't miss a potential meeting.
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The Filter is too late: The Gmail security filter takes a fraction of a second longer to identify the invite as a "Phish." By the time the email is moved to Spam, the event has already been "painted" onto your calendar.
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The "Known Sender" Loophole: Attackers are using sophisticated methods to bypass the "Known Sender" check, making the system believe the invite is safe even when it isn't.
How to Stop the Invites (Recommended Steps)
To stop these from appearing automatically, you must change your settings to tell Google to wait for your permission before adding anything to your schedule.
1. Prevent Auto-Add for Invitations
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Open Google Calendar.
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In the top right, click the Settings menu (gear icon) and select Settings.
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On the left sidebar, click General and then Event settings.
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Find the setting labeled "Add invitations to my calendar."
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Change the selection to: "When I respond to the invitation in email" or "Only if the sender is known"
2. Disable Automated "Scraping"
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In the same Settings menu, click on Events from Gmail in the left sidebar.
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Uncheck the box labeled "Show events automatically created by Gmail in my calendar."
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This prevents Google from scanning your emails for dates and times to add to your schedule.
Potential Impact: What changes for you?
Making these changes will successfully block the junk, but it will change how your calendar works:
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Action Required: Legitimate invites (from clients or partners) will no longer appear on your calendar automatically. You must open the invitation email and click "Yes" or "Maybe" for the meeting to show up on your schedule.
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No "Ghost" events: You will no longer see "outline" or "placeholder" events for meetings you haven't accepted yet.
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Manual Entry for Travel: If you disable "Events from Gmail," flight departures or hotel stays will no longer appear on your calendar automatically. You will need to add those manually from your confirmation emails.
What should I do if I see a phishing invite?
If one still manages to appear, do not click any links inside the event description.
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Click the event to open the details.
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Click the three vertical dots (More Actions) in the top right.
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Select Report as spam. This removes the event and helps Google's filters improve.