Google is taking legal action to disrupt the operations of an alleged large-scale cybercrime network powered by AI. On Friday, the company filed a lawsuit against a suspected Chinese criminal group known as Outsider Enterprise. According to Google, the group employs AI to run phishing campaigns, sending fraudulent text messages that impersonate Google and other well-known brands in order to steal users’ passwords and credit card details. The operation has reportedly defrauded hundreds of thousands of victims, causing financial losses estimated in the millions. In a two-week span, the group created 953,295 counterfeit websites, one million fake web domains, and sent 210 million spam texts to Android users, according to Google. The company reported that “226,000 spam texts were flagged by Android users in just two weeks this past May — that’s more than two text spam complaints a minute.” Google employs “AI-driven tools to combat AI-powered scams,” allowing it to identify fraudulent activity and warn users about suspicious calls and texts—resulting in the blocking of over 10 billion scam messages each month. The company has been working with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon to stop these scam texts and is also coordinating with the FBI. An FBI spokesperson informed TechCrunch that the agency, along with Google and Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs, seized multiple domains operated by the cybercriminals, as well as Shopify storefronts and accounts used to test the phishing service. The spokesperson added that since July 2023, the Outsider Enterprise phishing platform has enabled criminals to steal an estimated 3.87 million credit cards, leading to approximately $103 billion in losses. In its lawsuit complaint, Google presented evidence it had collected on individuals tied to the Outsider Enterprise, describing them as foreign-based cybercriminals whose true identities remain unknown. This group “created, maintains, and operates a ready-to-use online software platform that lets criminals of any technical ability build fake websites to scam victims and line their own pockets,” the complaint states. Google described the “phishing-for-dummies” tool, called Outsider and priced at $88 per week or $200 per month, as software that lets users generate fraudulent sites using AI services—including Google’s own Gemini. The fraudulent websites mimic various services and organizations, including telecom companies, banks, government bodies, and online retailers. To draw victims to these phony sites, the attackers work together to distribute malicious SMS messages or buy advertisements. The primary objective is to capture victims’ passwords, associated multi-factor authentication codes, and financial details. Scammers achieve this by intercepting the information entered on counterfeit websites, which is relayed in real time through the Outsider platform. “A key reason for Outsider’s popularity is how easily individuals with minimal technical skills—such as many members of the Enterprise—can buy the tool, launch phishing campaigns, and immediately connect with other Enterprise members who specialize in complementary skills,” Google noted. These Telegram channels enable cybercriminals to collaborate, share training, exchange tactics, and jointly create phishing operations. The Enterprise openly orchestrates its operations through candid, minimally encoded conversations on Telegram.
Chinese cybercrime operation that used AI to scam ‘hundreds of thousands of victims’ sued by Google
- by stefan