Since it was available in November of last year, OpenAI's ChatGPT has gained a lot of traction. It's an artificial intelligence chatbot you can access online.
Hackers are taking advantage of that popularity and targeting you. Right now, ChatGPT is an online-based tool, but scammers are developing fake apps, hoping you will download malware to your phone.
Cybercrime Support Network's Ally Armeson says there are so many hackers out there that big tech security systems are struggling to flag them all.
"Everyone wants to be on ChatGPT and during those peak hours and we can't," Armeson said. "So, we're sitting there kind of waiting, a little annoyed, and then we'll see an ad on Facebook pop up that says "OpenAI's ChatGPT is now an app, click here," and instead of try ChatGPT, you see download, so click on that download and the installation process will start and it will either fail, have an error message or just pause. What's really happening is in the background malware is being downloaded onto your computer."
To make sure an app isn't a scam, there are several things to pay attention to. First, look at the developer. In this case, it should be OpenAI.
Then, look at the logo. If it's blurry or the color is off, that's a warning sign.
Armeson says you should also check out what other people are saying about it.
"Look at reviews," Armeson said. "You've seen reviews for an app, even if it's a beloved app and everybody loves it, you'll see kind of a mix of five stars, four stars, three stars, and then, maybe the occasional two or one. There should be a mix and there should be a lot of them, especially for something like OpenAI. And then, also look at the comments. Sometimes you'll see people will say, 'Oh, this isn't this isn't the right app. This is a scam. Don't click on it.' So, sometimes people will warn us."
When in doubt, go to the OpenAI website. Armeson says it will be announced when the official ChatGPT app is available.
