Google sues Chinese cybercrime network that used Gemini to automate scams

Google has initiated legal action against a China-based group known as Outsider Enterprise, allegedly responsible for a massive AI-powered scam campaign. The company says it is working with law enforcement and mobile carriers to counter the threat.

According to Google’s legal filing, Outsider Enterprise operates through Telegram. The group offers phishing-as-a-service to individuals who may lack the technical skills to set up fraudulent websites and text campaigns on their own. In its Telegram channels, Outsider Enterprise reportedly provided instructions on using Google’s Gemini AI to create websites that imitate Google, YouTube, and government agencies such as New York’s E-ZPass. The group offered nearly 300 scam templates.

Google states that scams enabled by Outsider Enterprise resulted in more than 2.5 million text messages sent to Android users. About 55,000 of those messages occurred in a two-week period last month. In total, Google tracked 9,000 fake websites and 1 million URLs linked to the scam network. The text messages often claimed account problems or issues with package delivery. When users clicked the links, they landed on fraudulent websites designed by Gemini to look legitimate. Cybercriminals used these sites to steal personal data and banking details.

Google’s filing does not estimate the amount of money stolen, but a blog post notes that hundreds of people have lost some amount of money. Google worked with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to block many malicious text messages. Google also notes that its on-device scam detection in Google Messages likely helped reduce successful phishing attempts. This AI-powered feature reportedly stops 10 billion scam texts every month, so it likely caught at least some Outsider Enterprise activity.