How to Avoid Being Scammed by Fake ChatGPT Apps
Have you heard of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot that has taken the internet by storm? If you’re interested in trying it out on your smartphone, you need to be careful. Cybersecurity firm Sophos has recently reported that app developers are creating fake ChatGPT apps to trick users into paying for expensive subscriptions. Unfortunately, even some legitimate ChatGPT apps are actually fleeceware, as they bombard users with ads until they sign up for a costly subscription.
Sophos’ security researchers investigated five ChatGPT apps on both the App Store and Google Play Store, discovering that subscriptions for these fleeceware apps can cost anywhere from $10 a month to $70 a year. For example, the iOS version of Chat GBT called “Ask AI Assistant” charges $6 per week, or $312 per year after its free three-day trial is up. In March of this year alone, this app brought in $10,000 for its developers. Similarly, another fleeceware-like app named Genie has brought in $1 million over the past month, according to data from SensorTower.
To avoid falling victim to these scams, it’s essential to understand that fleeceware apps are designed to stay below the radar of what is allowed by Google and Apple in terms of service. They also use social engineering and coercive tactics to trick users into signing up for recurring subscriptions. Moreover, they often request annoying reviews and employ fake reviews and ratings to inflate their ratings in app stores.
Sophos has reported all of the fake ChatGPT apps posing as legitimate chatbot and ChatGPT applications to Apple and Google, and many of them have since been removed from their respective app stores. However, if you’ve already installed one of these apps on your smartphone, you must manually uninstall it.
How to Access ChatGPT on Your Smartphone Without Getting Scammed
If you’d like to try the ChatGPT out properly without having to worry about getting tricked into unwanted subscriptions, your best option is to sign up for OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus for $20 a month. You could also access the chatbot through Bing Chat, as Microsoft has partnered with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT onto its search engine. Plus, Bing Chat has access to the latest data, as it uses GPT-4 to search the internet by default. In contrast, ChatGPT stopped training in 2021 and currently operates on GPT-3.5.
Conclusion
It’s important to stay vigilant and avoid falling into the trap of fleeceware and fake ChatGPT apps. Always check the app store ratings and reviews before downloading an app, and never trust an app that requires subscriptions for functionality that other apps offer for free. Protect yourself and your hard-earned cash from these scams.
Editor Notes
It’s no surprise that the popularity of AI Chatbots and other intelligent technologies continues to grow. As such, it’s important to keep up to date with the latest cybersecurity developments to avoid being scammed. GPT News Room is a great resource to stay informed about the latest news and trends in AI technology. Check them out at https://gptnewsroom.com.
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