CYBERSECURITY researchers have exposed a scam that uses Google Gemini-branded chatbots on a presale site for a fake cryptocurrency called Google Coin to defraud visitors. Researchers from Malwarebytes Labs discovered the site and its AI assistant, which claims to be Google’s Gemini AI, guiding users through a supposed purchase and directing payments to attackers.
The presale site mimics Google branding and shows logos from OpenAI, Google, Binance, Squarespace, Coinbase, and SpaceX under a “Trusted By Industry” banner, lending it an air of legitimacy, according to Malwarebytes Labs. The chatbot maintains a highly professional sales persona, answering questions about investment returns and culminating in an irreversible crypto payment to the scammers, as described by Stefan Dasic of Malwarebytes Labs.
Chainalysis research cited by Malwarebytes found that roughly 60% of funds flowing into crypto scam wallets were tied to scammers using AI tools, underscoring the increasingly widespread use of AI in these campaigns. 18 February 2026.