OpenAI said it disrupted a Cambodia-based scam operation that used its generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT to facilitate a wide range of investment, romance, gambling, and law enforcement impersonation schemes.
To that end, it banned a coordinated network of ChatGPT accounts likely originating from Southeast Asia and operating from the city of Poipet, a region with extensive ties to scam compounds and human trafficking in the past.
The cluster of accounts is said to have used OpenAI's models to create and support the operation of fake online personas, generate and translate messages sent to scam targets, create promotional content for their fraudulent schemes, and assist with day-to-day activities.
The promotional content included creating social media advertisements for "chatter" jobs in Poipet specifically targeting users in Bangladesh and India that promised a base salary of $800 (and a bonus of $100 for "full attendance"), along with flight tickets, free accommodation, meals, 1-year Cambodia visas, and work permits.
A subset of these accounts have also been found to leverage the AI tool for administrative work, such as drafting internal announcements, translating messages between staff, and documenting employee debts, salary deductions, fines, loan repayments, visa overstays, work permits, immigration status, and recruitment incentives.
