Malicious Gemini AI Chatbot Sells Fake Google Coin in Scam Campaign
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Key Takeaways
- Sophisticated Deception: Scammers deployed a custom AI chatbot impersonating Google's Gemini assistant to aggressively market a non-existent cryptocurrency called "Google Coin."
- AI-Driven Social Engineering: The chatbot utilized a polished sales script to answer investment queries, project specific financial returns, and overcome user skepticism without human intervention.
- Irreversible Financial Loss: Victims were guided through a professional-looking presale dashboard to make irreversible payments in Bitcoin or Ethereum for worthless tokens.
Scammers have created a fraudulent website for a non-existent "Google Coin" presale, featuring a custom chatbot posing as Google's official Gemini AI assistant. This fake Gemini AI chatbot is designed to engage visitors in real-time, using official Google branding and a "green" online status indicator to establish false credibility.
Unlike traditional scams relying on static text or human operators, this bot autonomously guides potential victims through a sales funnel, claiming to be the "official helper for the Google Coin platform."
Mechanics of the Google Coin Scam
The Google Coin scam operates by mimicking legitimate-looking crypto presale environments, Malwarebytes has observed. The chatbot is programmed with specific responses to financial queries, projecting unrealistic returns. In one example, it claimed that a $395 investment would grow to $2,755 upon listing.Â
It refuses to provide verifiable corporate details, such as regulatory licenses or audit reports, redirecting concerns to vague assurances of "military-grade encryption."Â
The underlying website supports this deception through a tiered bonus system and a wallet-connection interface, ultimately directing users to send funds to specific wallet addresses while falsely citing OpenAI, Google, Binance, Squarespace, Coinbase, and SpaceX as collaborators.
Rise of AI-Powered Crypto Scams
This incident exemplifies the rapid evolution of AI-powered crypto scams. By automating the interaction layer, scammers can scale their operations significantly, engaging hundreds of targets simultaneously with consistent, persuasive messaging that mimics the tone of trusted brands.Â
Legitimate AI models like Gemini are not deployed to sell third-party speculative assets, and any platform making such claims should be treated as malicious.
In other recent news, an infostealer targeted AI agents and OpenClaw configurations. Last week, Google reported state-backed hackers use Gemini AI for cyberespionage, and researchers observed malicious Chrome extensions exploiting AI popularity to steal user data.
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