Google sues Chinese cybercrime group for allegedly using Gemini to automate phishing scams

Google has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese cybercrime group identified as Outsider Enterprise, alleging the group used Google’s Gemini AI to automate the creation of phishing websites and campaigns.

According to Google’s legal filing, Outsider Enterprise operated through Telegram, offering a phishing-as-a-service model that provided instructions on using Gemini to generate fraudulent websites mimicking Google, YouTube, and government agencies such as New York’s E-ZPass.

The group is reported to have offered nearly 300 scam templates to lower the technical barrier for scammers, enabling them to deploy phishing campaigns without building fraudulent infrastructure themselves.

Google stated it worked with telecommunications carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to block many of the malicious text messages associated with the group’s campaigns.

The company also highlighted its on-device scam detection feature in Google Messages, which it says stops 10 billion scam texts every month, suggesting this system likely intercepted some activity linked to Outsider Enterprise.

The lawsuit reflects broader concerns about the misuse of generative AI for fraud and the challenges platforms face in moderating API access to prevent such abuse.