Can RICO Curb AI-Powered Phishing?
In days of yore, con artists had to put effort into honing their aptitude for deceit. Practitioners of three-card monte practiced the Throw, the Sleight, and their pitch until fleecing a mark was second nature, while those offering a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge perfected their legalese and kept an extremely official-looking deed close at hand. To work a grift today, the only things scammers need to bilk their victims are phishing kits with AI-powered tools designed to create fraudulent websites. If online giant Google has its way, one of the most popular phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) operations may soon no longer be an option.
On June 12, 2026, Google’s General Counsel Halimah Delaine Prado announced that the company was filing a civil lawsuit in federal court against 25 Doe defendants collectively known as the “Outsider Enterprise.” The complaint alleges that the defendants operate a “phishing-for-dummies” product that allows practically anyone to use pre-built templates to generate scam text messages, fraudulent web domains, and fake websites to scam their marks. Citing violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970 (RICO) and the Lanham Act, Google is seeking damages from the Outsider Enterprise, as well as a temporary restraining order and injunctions to essentially force the PhaaS group to cease operations. As part of a coordinated effort with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Google says the FBI will be taking law enforcement actions against the Outsider Enterprise alongside its civil suit.
USA! USA! U-Wait, It's Not Great To Be #1 In Phishing Scams
If it feels like you’ve been getting more and more spam texts and suspicious emails lately, you can probably place a sizeable amount of the blame on the Outsider Enterprise. It offers a turnkey product that allows anyone, even those with limited internet savvy, to begin engaging in phishing and smishing (SMS messages) scams with relative ease. In addition to offering almost 300 templates and artificial intelligence (AI) tools for creating phishing platforms, the Outsider Enterprise also maintains a user community via Telegram channels where participants share techniques and coordinate scam campaigns. Reporting indicates these channels also facilitate the sale of stolen credit card data.
As many of us are well aware, phishing and smishing scams continue to grow in both frequency and sophistication. Using systems like the Outsider Enterprise, scammers can easily create fake messages and fraudulent URLs that mimic those of service providers such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. There’s also been a surge in scams alleging issues with a potential victim’s brokerage accounts, as well as fake sites using stolen images of Google Pay and Google Drive buttons. Regardless of the con, the goal remains the same: gaining access to credit card numbers and personal information.
According to Google’s data, the scale of the Outsider Enterprise’s influence is staggering, with their phishing kits estimated to be responsible for over 9,000 fake websites and over 1 million fraudulent URLs. Over a two-week period in May 2026, more than 2.5 million messages from Outsider Enterprise users were sent to Android users with links to Outsider-generated websites. During that same period, Android users flagged more than 55,000 spam texts tied to Outsider‑generated domains, which amounts to over two complaints per minute. A significant share of the phishing templates are designed for use in the United States and include schemes targeting telecommunications, tolling services such as E-ZPass, and spoofed e-commerce sites that offer “too-good-to-be-true” deals.
A Team Effort (Maybe)
The lawsuit doesn’t name any defendants, instead referring to most by their Telegram handles. Under RICO and the Lanham Act, it accuses the Outsider Enterprise of civil RICO violations based on multiple predicate acts of wire fraud and a conspiracy to violate RICO, along with infringement of federally registered marks, unfair competition, and false advertising.
Perhaps aware that victory in court will not end the war against cybercriminals, Google is applying other methods as well. After recognizing that its Gemini AI was being used by the Outside Enterprise for its attacks, Google says it has implemented additional safeguards and AI‑powered detection systems intended to prevent similar misuse and block malicious messages before they reach users
Google is also seeking assistance through legislative means. It’s supporting several bills currently in Congress that are intended to address the burgeoning phishing problem. These potential laws include the National Strategy for Combating Scams Act of 2025, the STOP Scams Against Seniors Act, and the Strategic Task Force on Scam Prevention Act. Google’s advocacy materials note that these are among seven bipartisan federal proposals aimed at strengthening coordination between law enforcement, regulators, and industry on scam prevention. Whether any or even all of these methods can help in what has become an endless game of Whack-A-Mole with phishing/smishing scammers remains to be seen. Regardless, take this as an opportunity to remind yourself to be wary and check every link before clicking. In addition to scrutinizing links, avoid responding to unsolicited texts or emails, enable spam filters on your devices, and report suspected scam messages to your carrier or designated numbers such as 7726 (SPAM).
