Google LLC today outlined details on how it’s stepping up its strategy to fight the rapid expansion of global scam operations through a combination of legal action with support for several U.S. legislative proposals aimed at curbing large-scale fraud.

In a blog post, Google provided details of how it was taking action against “Lighthouse,” a phishing-as-a-service network the company says has enabled industrial-scale SMS phishing attacks worldwide.

Lighthouse is described as a turnkey criminal service that allows operators to impersonate trusted brands, including Google, to steal passwords, financial data and personal information. The service is estimated to have helped scammers target more than a million victims across more than 120 countries and may have contributed to the compromise of between 12.7 million and 115 million credit cards in the U.S. alone.

To disrupt the group’s infrastructure, Google has filed claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Lanham Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to shut Lighthouse down and protect users and other brands.

Google argues that targeting the networks providing phishing kits, hosting and templates, rather than chasing individual attackers, is an essential step in curbing large, scalable fraud ecosystems.

Taking legal action against such groups, though positive, is not where Google is stopping, as it’s only one part of the company’s strategy.

Google is also backing several bipartisan bills in the U.S. Congress designed to strengthen national anti-fraud capabilities. The bills being backed by Google include the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception (GUARD) Act, which would fund state and local efforts to investigate scams targeting older adults. There’s also the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act, which proposes a federal task force to stop internationally sourced robocalls. And the Scam Compound Accountability and Mobilization (SCAM) Act is aimed at building a coordinated federal approach to dismantling scam compounds and supporting victims.

The SCAM Act is planning to target scam compounds in China and Southeast Asia. That includes allowing the president to use International Emergency Economic Powers Act sanctions against foreign persons who support or enable international scam compound operations.

Beyond taking legal action and supporting policies that protect people, Google is also launching new features such as using AI to flag common scam messages such as fake toll fees or package deliveries. The company is also protecting people from malicious links and scams in Google Messages.

For those people who do become a victim of an account compromise, Google is also making it safer and easier to regain access to their account by expanding account recovery options with Recovery Contacts.

“From the courtroom to the Capitol, we are taking action to stop these attacks. But this is a shared fight,” said Halimah DeLaine Prado, general counsel at Google. “While we take on criminal networks and advocate for stronger laws, we are also building smarter, AI-driven tools to help you spot and avoid these scams.”

The announcement of Google’s plans has been well-received. NetChoice, a trade association of online businesses, praised Google for its endeavor to protect users from criminals online.

“NetChoice members are always fighting to protect their users from online scams and criminals, and Google’s bold legal and legislative tactics here will help the courts and FTC to take down the worst offenders,” said Chief Executive Steve DelBianco. “This dual effort to update public policy and take bad actors to court will make it much harder for criminals to harm Americans on digital services.”

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