Google Links Outsider Enterprise to 9,000 Fake Websites and 1 Million Fraudulent URLs

Google has filed a lawsuit against a cybercrime operation known as the “Outsider Enterprise,” accusing the group of running large-scale phishing and smishing campaigns that have targeted hundreds of thousands of people.

According to Google, the network operates from China and uses Telegram to coordinate its activities. The company says the group distributes phishing kits that allow cybercriminals to launch fake text-message campaigns impersonating trusted brands, including Google itself, with the goal of stealing passwords, credit card information, and other sensitive data.

The lawsuit is part of a broader effort to disrupt the group’s infrastructure and limit its ability to continue operating. Google is also working with the FBI and major U.S. wireless carriers to reduce the impact of the campaign.

Google links operation to thousands of fake websites

Google says its investigation connected the Outsider Enterprise to approximately 9,000 fraudulent websites and more than one million malicious URLs used in scam campaigns.

The company estimates that the operation has generated millions of dollars in losses while financially scamming hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide.

Data collected by Google also highlights the scale of the campaign. During a two-week period in May, Android users reported 55,000 spam text messages associated with the operation. That equates to more than two spam-text complaints every minute.

During the same period, scammers reportedly sent 2.5 million text messages to Android users containing links that directed victims to websites created by the Outsider Enterprise.

The scale of the Outsider Enterprise’s operation is reflected in several key figures uncovered by Google’s investigation. Researchers identified approximately 9,000 fake websites and more than 1 million fraudulent URLs linked to the campaign.

Google pushes for stronger anti-scam legislation

Beyond the lawsuit, Google says legal action alone will not solve the growing scam problem.

The company is backing seven bipartisan bills designed to strengthen protections against fraud, phishing campaigns, and AI-assisted scams. Google argues that scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create more convincing messages, websites, and social engineering attacks that are harder for victims to identify.

To counter those threats, Google continues to expand AI-based security protections across its products.

Android includes scam detection features that can warn users about suspicious calls, messages, and contacts. Google also says its messaging protections block or intercept more than 10 billion malicious messages every month.

The company believes combining AI-powered defenses, legal action, industry cooperation, and stronger legislation offers the best chance of reducing the impact of large-scale cybercrime operations.

Growing pressure on cybercriminal infrastructure

The lawsuit against the Outsider Enterprise comes as technology companies continue to face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Recent security developments include the public leak of the Miasma credential-stealing framework’s source code on GitHub, raising concerns that additional threat actors could adapt the malware for future attacks. At the same time, GitHub has announced major security changes coming with npm v12 that are designed to reduce software supply-chain attack risks.

Microsoft has also expanded enterprise security protections by making DNS over HTTPS generally available for Windows DNS Server, allowing organizations to encrypt and authenticate DNS traffic as part of broader zero-trust security strategies.