Google sues Chinese cybercrime ring for AI phishing scheme

Google has filed a civil lawsuit against a suspected Chinese cybercrime network known as the Outsider Enterprise, alleging the group used artificial intelligence, including Google's own Gemini chatbot, to facilitate a massive phishing operation targeting U.S. consumers. The lawsuit, filed on Friday, June 12, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the network of operating a "phishing-as-a-service" platform that enabled criminals to create fraudulent websites impersonating trusted brands and government agencies.

According to the complaint, the Outsider Enterprise distributed a software suite that allowed users, regardless of technical skill, to generate convincing scam sites using over 290 pre-built templates. These mimicked entities including the U.S. Postal Service, New York's EZPass toll service, financial institutions, and shipping companies. The platform allegedly offered features like real-time dashboards and automated credential harvesting for subscription fees as low as $88 per week.

Google alleges the network explicitly weaponized AI tools, encouraging its members to use Gemini to write the custom code needed to build malicious...