New York Times · Cecilia Kang ·

Google sues Chinese cybercrime network Outsider Enterprise, accusing it of using Gemini to create fake websites and scam hundreds of thousands of Americans

Google warned that artificial intelligence had supercharged the problem of online scams.Andria Lo for The New York Times

Google sues Chinese cybercrime network Outsider Enterprise, accusing it of using Gemini to create fake websites and scam hundreds of thousands of Americans

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Google Sues Chinese Cybercrime Ring for Weaponizing Gemini AI

Google is taking legal action against Outsider Enterprise for using its own AI tools to build fake websites and scam Americans.

Google has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese cybercrime network called Outsider Enterprise, alleging the group hijacked its Gemini AI to generate fake websites designed to defraud Americans. The scam reportedly hit hundreds of thousands of victims.

The company simultaneously sounded the alarm on a bigger issue: AI is supercharging online fraud. The tools built to boost productivity are being twisted into engines for deception at unprecedented scale.

It's a brutal irony. Google's own generative AI product became the weapon of choice for a sophisticated criminal operation. The lawsuit signals Google is willing to go after bad actors aggressively — but it also raises uncomfortable questions about guardrails on powerful AI tools.

The case underscores a growing reality across the tech industry. As AI gets more capable, so do the people exploiting it.