Update, Dec. 07, 2024: This story, originally published Dec. 05, has been updated with examples of the kind of cyber-attacks used by hackers and scammers to lock you out of your Gmail account. A Dec.

Update, Mar. 4, 2025: This story, originally published Mar. 3, now includes a statement from Google regarding the Gmail account recovery methods described in the article, as well as getting human help ...

If you have ever lost access to your Gmail account – which essentially means you can't log in to your Google Account for other services you might use — you know how distressing the situation is.