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OpenAI‘s ChatGPT is reportedly used in several Asian scam compounds by Chinese-led criminal gangs to defraud U.S. real estate agents.
Okindo, a scammer rescued from the scam compound in Bangkok earlier this year, told Reuters that he and others were forced to use ChatGPT, a free version, to craft messages that would deceive Americans into making fraudulent cryptocurrency investments. This practice, known as “pig-butchering,” involves scammers gaining the trust of their victims before stealing their money.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
His account was confirmed by a representative of HAART Kenya, an anti-trafficking organization involved in his rescue. The details of Okindo’s story align with those of other forced laborers interviewed by Reuters. Okindo’s scam targeted U.S. real estate agents. He posed as a wealthy investor on property websites, such as Zillow.com (NASDAQ:Z), to lure potential victims.
The rescued scammer also disclosed that their assigned goal was to convince at least two real estate agents a day to deposit money for non-existent investments, while always communicating with at least 10 “clients.”
Okindo also revealed that he leveraged ChatGPT to devise new tactics that were occasionally so effective they could even trick previous fraud victims into losing additional funds. "It was really efficient, working with the AI, " he said.
This incident underscores the growing concern over the misuse of AI in fraudulent activities. OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, stated that it actively works to identify and disrupt scam-related misuse of the AI.
This comes in the wake of warnings from industry leaders about the potential threats AI poses to financial security. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, had previously cautioned about the dangers of AI outsmarting current authentication methods.
AI has also been used in other fraudulent activities, such as the deepfake economy, where scammers use generative AI to pose as employees of a company, damaging the brand’s reputation.
However, tech companies are taking steps to combat these fraudulent activities. For instance, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) has deployed its on-device Gemini AI model to detect and block fraudulent websites in real-time, significantly enhancing its security capabilities.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
