Google is suing an alleged criminal operation based in China that it says used AI tools, including its own Gemini platform, to power a sprawling phishing enterprise responsible for millions of dollars in fraud and more than a million scam websites.The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses a network known as the “Outsider Enterprise” of operating a sophisticated “phishing-as-a-service” platform that enabled criminals with little or no technical expertise to rapidly create convincing scam websites impersonating trusted companies, financial institutions, toll agencies, and government entities.Google said the lawsuit marks the first time it has legally pursued bad actors allegedly misusing Gemini to facilitate scams against U.S. consumers. The company is also coordinating with the FBI and major telecom carriers including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile in what it described as a broader effort to disrupt AI-driven fraud operations.
“You’ve seen the texts: fake package alerts, urgent bank warnings, panicked messages about your compromised account,” Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado wrote in a blog post published alongside the lawsuit. “Behind them is an AI-powered cybercrime network built to steal your passwords and credit cards. Today, we’re fighting back.”
