Google is combating scammers who use artificial intelligence to steal social media passwords from US small businesses.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday, specifically targets unnamed people in India and Vietnam.
Google claims hackers have been luring small-business owners with deceptive Facebook ads offering a download of Google’s Bard AI chatbot.
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It is a web-based platform available for free and not through download.
The organized group of hackers, operating under aliases such as Google AI and AIGoogle.Plus, posts official-looking ads.
Google says it leads to malware, compromising users’ social media credentials.
The lawsuit seeks to halt the scam and secure damages.
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Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel, said the suit is thought to be the first of its kind to safeguard users of a major tech company’s flagship AI product.
The scam has infiltrated Facebook ads, pages, and posts, targeting users with false promises of Bard downloads.
Once users fall for the ploy, their devices become infected with malware that transmits their social media credentials to the hackers.
The perpetrators then use this information to take control of victims’ social media accounts, spreading more malware-linked ads.
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The motive behind the alleged scheme remains unclear, prompting Google’s lawsuit to seek further information on its operation.
The targeted victims primarily include small businesses with Facebook business or advertiser accounts.
The malware-linked ads aim to confuse users by mimicking Google’s legitimate Bard product advertisements on Facebook.
While the exact number of victims is unknown, Google has filed approximately 300 takedown requests to remove the fraudulent ads.
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Facebook and other platforms generally cooperate in response to these requests.
This scheme appears to be part of a broader trend of malware scams affecting businesses, previously highlighted by Meta, Facebook’s parent company.
Meta reported blocking over 1,000 malicious URLs in May, offering ChatGPT-based tools, another free AI service, with many attacks originating in Vietnam.
