Report: Google files lawsuit against individuals accused of operating a cryptocurrency application racket in China

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has taken legal action against two individuals in China for utilizing Google Play and YouTube to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency apps that amassed over 100,000 downloads. Alphabet alleges that the defendants engaged in a series of illegal activities, including wire fraud, and filed the lawsuit on April 4 in a New York federal court. These scam apps, which were designed to appear as legitimate digital asset investments, deceived users into depositing funds that could never be withdrawn. Despite Google’s efforts to remove fraudulent apps, many managed to bypass its fraud detection systems. The two scammers began uploading these fraudulent apps in 2019. Google’s general counsel, Halimah DeLaine Prado, stated that this lawsuit is a crucial step in protecting the platform’s users. Phishing scams, which involve attackers tricking victims into sharing sensitive information or installing malicious software, have become a growing concern in the crypto industry. In March alone, approximately $71 million was lost to phishing scams, a 50% increase compared to February. In the first quarter of 2024, a total of $173 million worth of digital assets were lost to phishing scams, with 90% of the stolen assets being ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network. Hacks and exploits have also plagued the crypto industry, with a total of $1.8 billion lost to crypto hacks and scammers in 2023, including 17% attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group. Despite increasing regulatory scrutiny, Crypto.com continues to expand its presence in South Korea.