AI has emerged as a significant concern, with con artists exploiting the growing interest in new technologies to deceive individuals. Google recently took legal action against a group of scammers who impersonated the tech giant to steal users’ private information.
Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel, revealed in a recent blog post that the company filed a lawsuit in California against the group responsible for luring users into downloading malware under the guise of Google software. These scammers utilized social media pages and ads promoting the download of Bard, Google’s open-source generative AI tool, which, in reality, does not require downloading. By incorporating Bard, Google’s copyrights, and logos into their scheme, the con artists directed users to a fraudulent third-party website resembling Google’s official site. Unbeknownst to the users, downloading the purported software led to the installation of malicious malware aimed at extracting their private data.
Google’s legal action seeks to halt the operations of this group by working with domain name registrars to swiftly remove any fraudulent domains that surface, despite the perpetrators’ identities remaining unknown to Google.
The lawsuit targets a group that has been involved in approximately 300 incidents of deception, resulting in compromised social media accounts for those who unwittingly downloaded the malware.
This move by Google is a significant step in combating such fraudulent activities and may prompt other companies to take similar actions against con artists. Reports have also highlighted instances where scammers in Vietnam exploited Facebook platforms by distributing malware disguised as Bard and other tools. Google’s initiative may serve as a deterrent to such deceptive practices.
It is crucial for users to be cautious and avoid downloading programs or applications from unverified sources, as genuine AI tools like Bard and ChatGPT are readily accessible online at no cost.
