Google is pursuing a legal strategy to combat the prevalence of phishing scams through text messages, specifically targeting Lighthouse, an organization alleged to provide tools for orchestrating such attacks.
The company estimates that Lighthouse-affiliated scams in the U.S. have stolen anywhere between 12.7 million and 115 million credit cards. These phishing attacks exploit established brands like E-Z Pass to steal people’s financial information, and Google is seeking to dismantle Lighthouse’s operations through a multi-pronged legal approach that includes RICO, the Lanham Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.