Google sues scam ring that used Gemini AI to build fraud sites

Google has filed a lawsuit against a suspected Chinese cybercrime operation it calls the Outsider Enterprise, alleging the group sent more than 2.5 million fraudulent text messages to Android users over a two-week period in May 2026. The scammers reportedly used Google’s own Gemini chatbot to help build those sites.

The complaint, first reported by Bloomberg, accuses the network of targeting hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. According to Google, the operation generated 9,000 fake websites and more than one million fraudulent URLs.

The Outsider Enterprise coordinated through Telegram, distributing links via text messages that impersonated Google and other trusted brands. Scammers reportedly encouraged one another to use Gemini to write the custom code necessary to create malicious websites.

This marks Google’s second major legal action against China-based text message scam operations in seven months, following the November 2025 Lighthouse RICO lawsuit. The Outsider case adds explicit generative AI use in the scam supply chain.

Google worked with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon to block texts. The 2.5 million messages and 9,000 fake websites are figures from Google’s complaint, not independently verified totals. The Gemini misuse claim originates from Google’s court filing.