Google sues Chinese cybercrime network that used Gemini to automate scams

Google filed a lawsuit against a Chinese cybercrime network known as Outsider Enterprise on May 15, 2024, alleging the group used Google's Gemini AI to automate large-scale phishing scams. According to Google's legal filing, Outsider Enterprise operates via Telegram, offering "phishing-as-a-service" to individuals lacking technical expertise. The group reportedly provided instructions on leveraging Gemini to generate fraudulent websites mimicking legitimate entities like Google, YouTube, and New York's E-ZPass. Outsider Enterprise offered approximately 300 scam templates, facilitating the distribution of over 2.5 million text messages to Android users. Google's internal tracking identified 9,000 fake websites and 1 million URLs associated with this scam network, with a significant surge of 55,000 scam messages occurring within a two-week period last month. Google stated it is collaborating with law enforcement and mobile carriers to combat this threat.