Google Sues Hacker Who Used Bard's Name
The popularity of generative artificial intelligence (AI) services such as Google Bard and ChatGPT is starting to be exploited by cybercriminals. This made Google sue the hacker who took the name Bard.
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In a lawsuit filed in California, United States, Google accused a group of fraudsters using the name Bard to trick internet users into downloading malware. The group of fraudsters is believed to be domiciled in Vietnam.
Beware of Scammers Creating 'Latest Version' of Google Bard to Download
Google claimed the online fraudsters had created social media pages and placed online ads encouraging users to download the AI Bard service. Google's lawsuit specifically says fraudsters use posts promoted on Facebook to spread malware.
If the fraudulent application is downloaded, the victim's device will be infiltrated by malware that can steal the user's social media username and password for later use by the fraudster.
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"The defendants are three unidentified individuals who claim to provide, among other things, the 'latest version' of Google Bard for download," Google said in its lawsuit, as quoted from The Verge, Tuesday (11/14/2023).
"Defendants are not affiliated with Google in any form, even though they pretend to be affiliated. They use Google trademarks, such as Google, Google AI, Google Bard to lure clueless victims to download malware onto their computers."
Google's lawsuit highlights how the new technology could harm users who may not fully understand how it works. For example, the scammer in this case calls Bard a paid service or app that must be downloaded. In fact, Bard is available for free through the bard.google.com website and there is currently no application.
Google's blog post also revealed that the tech giant has already filed around 300 takedown requests related to this fraudster. But Google wants these scammers banned from creating malicious domains in the future and for them to be disabled at US domain registrars.