The day after Google filed a lawsuit to end text scams that primarily target Americans, the criminal network behind phishing scams has been “disrupted,” a Google spokesperson told Ars.
According to messages posted by the “leader” of the so-called “Lighthouse Enterprise” on his Telegram channel, the phishing gang’s cloud server “was blocked due to malicious complaints.”
“We will restore it as soon as possible!” The leader posted on the channel—which Google’s lawsuit notes has more than 2,500 members—helped coordinate phishing attacks that resulted in losses of “over a billion dollars.”
Google has alleged that Lighthouse Enterprises is “a criminal group in China” that sells “phishing for dummies” kits that make it easier for scammers with low technical savvy to launch large-scale phishing campaigns. Google alleged that so far, “millions” of Americans have been harmed as scammers improperly impersonate US institutions like the Postal Service as well as well-known brands like E-ZPass.
The company’s lawsuit seeks to dismantle the entire lighthouse criminal enterprise, so the company was happy to see lighthouse communities go dark. In a statement, Halima Delen Prado, Google’s general counsel, told Ars that “This cessation of Lighthouse operations is a win for everyone.