Google sues alleged AI scam ring behind 9,000 fake sites, 1 million domains, and 2.5 million texts

Google has filed suit over what it says is a sprawling scam operation that used AI to send deceptive text messages and funnel people to lookalike websites aimed at harvesting passwords and payment details.

According to the company, the scheme operated on a large scale and affected hundreds of thousands of people.

What happened?

In the suit, Google accuses the outfit Outsider Enterprise of mounting phishing campaigns while posing as Google and other well-known companies, TechCrunch reported.

Google linked the operation to 9,000 spoofed websites, roughly 1 million sham domains, and 2.5 million scam texts sent to Android users in about a two-week span.

Google said the scheme hit "hundreds of thousands of victims" and led to losses "estimated in the millions."

Filed Friday, Google's complaint characterizes Outsider as a "turn-key, online software suite" that it says enables criminals, regardless of technical skill, to spin up phishing pages within minutes.

The software package allegedly costs as little as $88 per week and comes with more than 290 ready-made templates that mimic financial institutions, retailers, telecom providers, and government agencies.

Google further alleged that participants openly organized on Telegram and relied on AI tools, including Google's own Gemini, to produce fake pages more quickly.

Why does it matter?

Because the messages can appear to come from a familiar company, a recipient may hand over login credentials, multi-factor authentication codes, or credit card information before realizing it is a scam.

Google said, "55,000 spam texts were flagged by Android users in just two weeks this past May — that's more than two text spam complaints a minute."

The FBI told TechCrunch that Outsider Enterprise's platform, beginning in July 2023, enabled cybercriminals to steal "at least an estimated 3,870,000 stolen credit cards and a corresponding estimated $1.9B in losses."

AI can help detect fraud, improve digital security, and even support the energy grid by forecasting electricity demand and helping distribute clean energy more efficiently.

At the same time, the technology can be misused to automate scams at scale, while large AI systems can require significant amounts of electricity and water to operate, creating pressures that can strain infrastructure and even contribute to higher energy costs.

What's being done?

Google said it is using "AI-powered tools to fight AI-powered scams," including systems that detect suspicious calls and texts and help block them before they reach users.

The company said those defenses now intercept more than 10 billion scam messages each month.

It also said it has been working with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon to block malicious text campaigns while coordinating with the FBI.

An FBI spokesperson told TechCrunch that, working with Google and Lumen's Black Lotus Labs, the bureau seized multiple domains tied to the cybercriminals, along with Shopify storefronts and accounts used to test the operation's phishing service.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.