From dating scams to fake lawyers: OpenAI details ChatGPT misuse in new threat report

OpenAI said it banned ​accounts linked to Chinese law enforcement, romance scammers and influence operations, including a smear campaign against Japan's first woman ⁠prime minister, in a report detailing the misuse of ⁠its ChatGPT technology.

The company said several accounts ‌used its chatbot ​alongside other tools, including social media accounts, to carry out cybercrimes while posing as a dating agency, law firms and US officials, among others.

Here are ​some details from ⁠OpenAI:

• A small set of accounts that likely originated in China used OpenAI's models to request information about US persons, online forums and federal ⁠building locations, ‌and sought guidance on face-swapping software.

• The same accounts also generated English-language emails to state-level US ‌officials or policy analysts working in business and finance, ⁠inviting targets to participate in paid consultations.

• OpenAI said it banned a ‌ChatGPT account linked to an individual associated with ‌Chinese law enforcement whose activity involved orchestrating ‌a covert influence operation targeting Japanese Prime ‌Minister Sanae TakaichiA cluster of ChatGPT accounts used the chatbot to run a dating scam targeting Indonesian men ⁠and likely ⁠defrauded hundreds of victims a month, according to OpenAI.

• OpenAI said the scam used ChatGPT to generate promotional text and ads for a fake dating service, luring users to join the platform and pressuring targets to complete several ​tasks requiring large payments.

• Several accounts used OpenAI's models ​to pose as law firms ​and impersonate real attorneys and US law enforcement, targeting fraud victims, ​OpenAI said.