OpenAI’s ChatGPT has taken the world by storm with its ability to generate content and answer your queries. Now, the cybercriminals are taking advantage of the situation and committing frauds. Recently, Kaspersky researchers have discovered a fraudulent ChatGPT desktop application that contains new malware, capable of stealing users’ social media login information.
According to the cybersecurity company’s blog post, the fake app’s links are circulating on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Several social media posts entice users to download the app by promising a $50 bank account credit. However, the app installs malware that steals the user’s data instead.
Kaspersky has named the new malware Fobo (Trojan-PSW.Win64.Fobo). The cybersecurity researchers revealed that the scammers have constructed a fraudulent ChatGPT site that closely resembles the legitimate one. After users follow the link on social media, they are directed to the bogus website. When they try to download the app, the installation process halts abruptly, displaying an error message.
Despite the error message, Fobo malware is secretly installed in the background. Kaspersky notes that the malware targets cookie information, including login credentials, across popular browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave. If hackers acquire the cookies, they can obtain the user’s login details for various platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, and Google, particularly those related to businesses. Additionally, the hackers may extract other data, such as the account’s advertising expenditure and its current balance.
According to researchers, cybercriminals are targeting users worldwide with the fake ChatGPT desktop app. The fraudulent client has already victimized users across continents, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and America.
Speaking about the Fobo trojan, Darya Ivanova, a security expert at Kaspersky, said, “This campaign targeting ChatGPT is a prime example of how attackers are leveraging social engineering techniques to exploit the trust that users place on popular brands and services. It is important for users to understand that, just because a service appears to be legitimate, it doesn’t mean that it is. By staying informed and remaining cautious, users can protect themselves from these types of attacks.”
It is important to note that there is no official app for ChatGPT. OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot is available for free and can be accessed by registering on the platform.
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