Google sues Chinese group behind massive phishing scam
What's the story
Google has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese-speaking cybercriminal group, 'Darcula,' for their role in a major phishing scam targeting Americans. The complaint was filed on Tuesday and alleges that the group has been sending out fraudulent text messages this year. Darcula is said to sell software that enables mass distribution of these phishing texts, impersonating trusted organizations like the IRS or USPS.
Legal strategy
Google's lawsuit aims to disrupt Darcula's operations
The lawsuit serves as a legal maneuver for Google, allowing US courts to seize websites used by Darcula and disrupt their operations. The company hopes this will help them take down the infrastructure of what they describe as a "massive scam operation." Cassandra Knight, Google's Vice President of Litigation, said in an email statement that they are taking legal action to shut down this operation responsible for 80% of all phishing texts.
Cybercrime tool
Darcula's software and its impact
Darcula's main product, Magic Cat, is a user-friendly program that allows even those without advanced hacking skills to send millions of phishing texts. These messages often contain links to fake websites impersonating legitimate services like YouTube's premium service. The goal is to trick unsuspecting users into providing their credit card details, which are then stolen by the scammers.
Cybercrime network
Darcula's operations and Google's response
The identities of those behind Darcula, who mainly communicate in simplified Chinese, are mostly unknown. However, the legal complaint identifies Yucheng Chang as a leader of this group. Google claims that Chang lives in China while other members reside either there or in other foreign countries. The company estimates that Darcula and its associates have stolen nearly 900,000 credit card numbers including almost 40,000 from Americans.
Scam statistics
Google's legal action and cybercrime statistics
Google has received over 5,000 complaints from users of Google Messages about Darcula's scam texts between September and November. The FBI's annual Internet Crime Complaint Center report revealed that Americans lost a record $16.6 billion to cybercriminals last year alone. An investigation by Norwegian National Broadcasting (NRK) found that over 600 scam operators were behind the messages sent through Magic Cat, which can impersonate various Western companies and governments but not China.