SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, reported that more people are losing money to fake trading bots that incorporate ChatGPT’s name from OpenAI to enhance their credibility.
Blockchain security firm SlowMist reported that more users are falling victim to a previously known trading bot scam, now rebranded to exploit the artificial intelligence hype.
In an Oct. 13 Medium post, SlowMist explained that cybercriminals are taking advantage of the AI trend by embedding OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the names of their scam bots.
Scammers have repackaged the bots formerly known as “Uniswap Arbitrage MEV Bot” with the new label “ChatGPT Arbitrage MEV Bot.”
“By slapping the label ChatGPT onto their scams, they manage to grab attention and appear more credible,” the firm wrote.
“The scammers claim that they used ChatGPT to generate the bot’s code, which helps to ease users’ doubts about any malicious intent in the code,” it added.
SlowMist reported that scammers entice users with the claim of a trading bot that will generate large returns by monitoring new tokens and key price shifts on Ethereum.
The scam directs victims to create a MetaMask wallet and click on a fake link found on the open-source Remix platform.
After copying the code and deploying it, users must fund the smart contract to “activate” the bot.
“The more ETH they deposit, the greater their supposed profits. But when the user clicks ‘start,’ the deposited ETH vanishes — funneled straight into the scammer’s wallet via a backdoor coded into the smart contract,” SlowMist wrote.
“The outgoing funds are either transferred directly to exchanges or moved to temporary storage addresses,” the firm said.
SlowMist discovered three scammer addresses that use these methods to steal from unsuspecting users.
One scammer has taken 30 Ether, worth more than $78,000, from over 100 victims since August, while the other two have stolen 20 Ether, valued at over $52,000, from 93 victims.
Check out: SlowMist Issues Alert on Rising Phishing Threats in the TON Network
SlowMist indicated that the scammers utilize a “wide-net approach” by stealing small amounts from many victims, who often feel that the effort needed to retrieve their funds is not worth it compared to the amount taken.
“Because the individual losses are relatively minor, many victims do not have the time or resources to get justice,” SlowMist wrote.
“This allows the scammers to continue their operations, often rebranding the scam under a new name,” it said
As per the blockchain security firm, many promotional videos for this type of scam are available on the internet, particularly on YouTube.
The warning noted that signs indicating a video could be promoting a scam include discrepancies between audio and video, as well as the display of recycled footage from other origins.
The statement mentioned that an abnormal quantity of thanks and praise comments at the top of a thread, along with later updates denouncing the scheme as a scam, can also be warning signs.
