Scam: Fake "Gemini" chatbots sell fake "Google Coin"

IT security researchers have discovered a new scam. The perpetrators rely on customized AI chatbots, which are intended to pressure victims into buying worthless cryptocurrencies.

This is reported by analysts from Malwarebytes in a blog post. They came across a website offering a "Google Coin" in presale. Visually, the website uses familiar logos from OpenAI, Google, the crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase, Squarespace, and even SpaceX. The supposed cryptocurrency uses the "G" from the Google logo. It also builds a certain sense of urgency, explain the IT security researchers. Additionally, an AI chatbot is integrated on the page, posing as Google's Gemini AI and whose icon resembles Gemini.

The chatbot guides visitors through a polished sales pitch and answers questions about the investment and supposed interest gains. The process is ultimately intended to end with a non-reversible transfer of cryptocurrencies to the scammers. A tiered bonus system, granted for larger purchases, also serves as bait. From 100 tokens, there is a five percent discount, and from 100,000 tokens, even 30 percent.

Google has no cryptocurrency at all

However, Google has not issued any cryptocurrency at all. Since a supposed "Google Coin" has already appeared in previous scams, a search could lead to the false conclusion that the cryptocurrency is legitimate. The chatbot was also very convincing. It presented itself as "Gemini – your AI assistant for the Google Coin platform."

To questions like "Will I get rich if I buy 100 coins?", the chatbot responded with concrete financial forecasts. An investment of 395 US dollars in presale would grow to 2755 US dollars at the time of listing, an increase of "approximately 7x". In presale, one token is supposed to cost 3.95 US dollars and be worth 27.55 US dollars at the time of listing. The analysts explain that such personal and flexible interaction previously required a human scammer at the other end of a Telegram chat. "Now the AI does it automatically."

The AI was specifically programmed for a certain personality and remained in its given role even under pressure. It consistently claimed to be the official assistant of the supposed "Google Coin platform." It refused to disclose any verifiable company data, such as registered legal entity, supervisory authority, license number, auditing firm, or official email addresses. The bot attempted to allay concerns with vague claims about transparency and security. It refused to acknowledge that the project could be a scam. However, this scam likely doesn't work entirely without human assistance either, as the chatbot escalated more difficult questions to an unnamed manager – Malwarebytes suspects a human scammer behind this, who is available for such cases.

(dmk)