In brief: Outsider, a Chinese phishing network, abused Gemini to mass-produce fraudulent SMS messages and websites, caused $1.9 billion in damages, and was shut down through U.S. law enforcement action.
Google has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan against a Chinese cybercriminal network that abused the AI Gemini to automatically generate phishing messages. The “Outsider” operation ran a phishing-as-a-service platform and caused an estimated $1.9 billion in damages, according to the FBI.
The Chinese network Outsider instrumentalized Gemini to generate fraudulent SMS messages (smishing) and phishing web pages. The messages imitated legitimate brands and deceived recipients by claiming there were problems with brokerage accounts or outstanding premiums from mobile carriers. The links led to fake web pages where victims entered their personal data and banking information.
The criminal software was distributed via an automated Telegram bot: a weekly subscription cost $88, a monthly license $200. The package included over 290 pre-configured web page templates as well as features for capturing keystrokes in real time. Google documented that the operators provided step-by-step instructions on how to use AI-generated code for Outsider – requests to Gemini were disguised as harmless programming assistance for gift storage designs.
Investigators identified a clear division of labor: developers, data brokers for victim lists, spam senders, and money launderers. The FBI estimates that Outsider has been responsible for the theft of approximately 3.87 million credit cards since July 2023. As part of Operation “Ghost Hook,” U.S. authorities and telecommunications providers shut down the servers and domains, seized cryptocurrency wallets containing approximately $100,000 in USDT, and redirected thousands of phishing domains to an FBI information page.
Source: www.it-daily.net · Published June 16, 2026
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