Google launches dual legal and legislative strategy to combat international cyber scams

Google on Wednesday announced it’s launching a new dual strategy to crack down on scammers by filing a novel lawsuit against a China-based hacking group, while also working with Congress on bipartisan bills to crack down on foreign cybercriminals.

The tech giant noted that the “Lighthouse” scam has deployed a massive SMS phishing or “smishing” attack after exploiting established brands like E-Z Pass with the goal of exploiting victims’ financial information. 

Cyber criminals send a text message encouraging the recipient to click a link and provide information like email credentials, banking information and other sensitive data under false pretenses, exploiting the reputation of brands like Google and other entities by illegally displaying trademarks and services on fraudulent websites.

“That text message you got about a ‘stuck package’ from USPS or an ‘unpaid road toll’? It’s not just spam. It’s the calling card of a sophisticated, global scam that has swindled victims out of millions of dollars,” wrote Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel. 

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“Today, we’re fighting back. We are filing litigation to dismantle ‘Lighthouse,’ a massive ‘Phishing-as-a-Service’ operation, and we’re also endorsing pivotal bipartisan bills in the U.S. Congress to protect everyone from these attacks,” Prado wrote.

Google said in its announcement that the Lighthouse scam has harmed more than 1 million victims in 120 countries, stealing between 12.7 million and 115 million credit cards in the U.S. alone, which represents a five-fold increase in these types of attacks since 2020.

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The lawsuit seeks to dismantle the infrastructure of the operation and the claims are being brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the Lanham Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Google said that it’s collaborating with policymakers in Congress on ways to address scams and endorsed a trio of bipartisan bills that Prado said would “help bring a decisive end to the financial harm and damage wrought by foreign cybercriminals.”

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The first bill Google is endorsing is the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception (GUARD) Act, which would empower state and local law enforcement by enabling them to use federal grant funding to investigate financial fraud and scams specifically targeting retirees.

“This international case underscores how rapidly criminal tactics are evolving to defraud victims around the world,” said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., a co-sponsor of the legislation. “The GUARD Act is a critical step in equipping our state and local law enforcement with the tools they need to stay ahead of these threats here at home. By harnessing innovative technologies like blockchain, we can better protect seniors and families from these increasingly sophisticated financial scams.”

The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act is another bill that Google is endorsing. The legislation would establish a task force to focus on how to detect illegal robocalls originating from overseas and block them before they reach American consumers.

The third bill Google is endorsing is the Scam Compound Accountability and Mobilization (SCAM) Act, which would develop a national strategy to counter scam compounds, enhance sanctions and support survivors of human trafficking without these compounds.

“From the courtroom to the Capitol, we are taking action to stop these attacks. But this is a shared fight. While we take on criminal networks and advocate for stronger laws, we are also building smarter, AI-driven tools to help you spot and avoid these scams,” Prado said. “Together, we can make the digital world a much harder place for criminals to do business.”