Google files lawsuit against Chinese hackers over AI-powered phishing kit

Google has filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan against the developers of the Outsider AI phishing kit, a tool that used Google’s Gemini artificial‑intelligence model to create convincing fraudulent websites. The complaint says the kit generated more than 1.5 million URLs, about 9 000 fake sites and a million fraudulent links between November and April, sending 2.5 million messages and 55 000 spam SMS that targeted hundreds of thousands of users and caused multi‑million‑dollar losses.

The operators, identified as the Chinese cybercrime group Outsider Enterprise, allegedly abused Google Cloud, Google Drive and the Gemini brand while impersonating services such as Google, YouTube, the United States Postal Service and New York’s E‑ZPass toll system. Google says it is working with the FBI and U.S. telecom carriers AT&T, T‑Mobile and Verizon to dismantle the infrastructure and is seeking a court order to shut it down.

The case underscores growing concerns about AI‑driven scams and has spurred calls for new legislation to combat such fraudulent activities.