In less than four months, ChatGPT has revolutionised and gained widespread popularity. It has successfully bridged the gap between humanity and artificial intelligence, letting people use AI to their benefit and making their tasks at work and beyond easier. Unfortunately, there are those who have misused this breakthrough for other purposes, such as defrauding people and businesses, to secure dishonest gains.

Invention, responsible for internet revolution

ChatGPT has been making waves in the media, piquing interest and sparking conversation about this fascinating technology. Those who are unfamiliar with ChatGPT should know that it is an OpenAI language model capable of processing language, including understanding and generating human-like responses to both simple and extremely complex questions. As a result, ChatGPT is an extremely versatile tool that has been used in a wide range of industries, from computer science to content creation. Undoubtedly, ChatGPT has transformed human and AI interactions, enabling the average consumer to benefit from this incredible technology. However, has it also inadvertently given rise to new security concerns?

ChatGPT: scammers’ new playground?

Fraudsters are notorious for their remarkable ability to evolve and adapt to shifting landscapes, particularly in the realm of innovation. Fraudsters have been developing and improving their methods since time immemorial, contributing to the ever-expanding challenges we confront today. As technology advances, scammers never miss an opportunity to sophisticate their methods, which is exactly what is happening now with ChatGPT. Many studies, including one spearheaded by Europol, revealed the vast number of fraudsters who use ChatGPT to craft lucrative scams. This problem is undeniably on the rise. But what remains to be explored is exactly how these swindlers are incorporating ChatGPT in their schemes and what can be done about it.

Recommended reading: The rise of organised fraud crime groups

Phishing

According to Europol, ChatGPT is primarily used for phishing attacks. Fraudsters generate natural and convincing messages that are intended to resonate with the victim's interests by employing ChatGPT's ability to write phenomenally good texts. Most messages are completely indifferent to those that the victim would normally receive, such as invitations to subscribe to a journal or a newsletter. After establishing contact, the scammers continue to use ChatGPT to build rapport until they persuade the victim to disclose sensitive information like credit card numbers or email credentials. Phishing was previously extremely effective; however, with ChatGPT, it has reached new heights.

Impersonations

Similar to phishing, scammers utilize ChatGPT to impersonate trusted individuals and extract personal information from their victims. Interestingly, while phishing is commonly used on a larger audience, impersonations are extremely personalized and well-targeted. Fraudsters use ChatGPT's phenomenal ability to write natural texts to perfectly impersonate people, usually from customer service, and trick victims into disclosing their most sensitive information. Such interactions appear so natural that even experienced people can't always spot the imposter. With ChatGPT, impersonation has become even easier and more profitable for scammers.

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is yet another way that fraudsters take advantage of ChatGPT's capabilities. Surprisingly, ChatGPT can not only generate incredibly natural texts but also produce code in various programming languages. In the most basic scenario, scammers request that ChatGPT generate a code, that will later be used for cybercrime activities to defraud consumers and businesses. Before ChatGPT, scammers needed coding knowledge and familiarity with programming languages to develop the tools required for cybercrime. The introduction of ChatGPT has dramatically altered this landscape.

Increased efficiency

While it is evident that ChatGPT has enhanced the sophistication of fraudsters' scamming methods, its contribution to increased efficiency is often overlooked. Before ChatGPT, scammers used to invest significant resources, including time and money, to develop the right tools to commit fraud, but now everything is much faster and more cost-effective. This newfound efficiency suggests that the scope of fraud attempts will grow exponentially. This is by far the most serious warning for online businesses, as fraudsters acquire more consumer information with fewer resources, online businesses face heightened risk.

Recap & additional insight

In recent years, ChatGPT fraud has become a growing concern as more cybercriminals leverage the capabilities of generative ai to deceive people. By using generative pre trained transformer models, these criminals can generate human like responses that can easily trick users into believing they are interacting with legitimate entities.

One of the most common methods is through phishing scams, where unsuspecting users are led to believe they are engaging with a trusted source. For example, a fraudster might use a ChatGPT account to mimic customer service representatives, thereby gaining the trust of their targets.

The free version of these AI tools is often used by fraudsters due to its accessibility. Despite the absence of a subscription, it still provides enough technical ability to pose a risk. Cybercriminals may promise unlimited access to services or benefits to convince users to divulge sensitive information or to carry out financial transactions unwittingly.

ChatGPT scams are proliferating across various online platforms, exploiting the trust users place in these AI-driven interactions. The ai technology behind these tools allows for the creation of human like responses that can be incredibly convincing.

It is crucial for users to be aware of these potential threats and exercise caution when interacting with AI-driven interfaces. Always verify the legitimacy of the interaction and be mindful of the possibility of encountering sophisticated fraud schemes designed to exploit generative ai capabilities.

By staying informed and vigilant, users can protect themselves against the evolving tactics of ChatGPT fraud. Don't forget to check your work to ensure you are not falling prey to these schemes.

At Alphacomm, we remain committed to combating fraud and protecting our clients. Do you want to learn more about the current fraud landscape and possibly some ways to combat fraud? Visit our webinars page to watch the recording of our webinar titled “Inside the Mind of a Fraudster: Combatting Online Payment Fraud” in which an ex-fraudster and a payment fraud expert share their insights on the latest trends.