Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Google has filed a lawsuit against a cybercriminal group based in China that it said sends out fraudulent text messages to steal people's identities and credit cards.
The organization operates a phishing-as-a-service platform called Lighthouse that makes it easy to set up websites that steal people's information after a text message directs them to the site. The messages often tell recipients they have information on a blocked package or an unpaid road toll.
"Smishing" is like phishing but uses SMS or text messages instead of emails.
Researchers have called the group the Smishing Triad, and it has more than a million victims in 120 countries, Google said in a press release. It has stolen between 12.7 million and 115 million credit cards in the U.S. alone.
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