ChatGPT caught recommending scam websites that steal your credit card info

PSA: Scammers are getting their fake shopping sites into ChatGPT's results

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Bottom line: AI-assisted shopping searches are giving scammers a new way to target consumers, with cloned retail sites now appearing in results from tools like ChatGPT. Someone asking ChatGPT for popular Russell & Bromley bags might receive a neat list of styles, prices, and links that appear to lead to legitimate retailers. But some of those links instead direct users to convincing clone sites, where orders are accepted, nothing is delivered, and buyers' payment details are stolen. Scam-checking service Ask Silver says these fake sites aren't just appearing on the open web - they're also showing up in AI-generated answers. The firm found that ChatGPT included links to cloned versions of both Russell & Bromley and home furnishings retailer Dunelm in its shopping results. The sites are designed to blend in. They mimic the look and feel of legitimate retailers while luring shoppers with steep discounts - in some cases as much as 80%. Their domains are also carefully crafted, using names that appear legitimate at a glance, such as therussellbromleyofficial or russellandbromleylondon. There is also a broader technical concern over how AI systems ingest and use information. Anna Jones of Ask Silver told The Guardian that the large language model behind ChatGPT may have been "poisoned," meaning misleading or malicious content could have been introduced into the data it relies on. That can include cloned web pages created specifically to manipulate AI-generated results. She adds: "In this instance it looks like scammers are taking advantage of the fact that Russell & Bromley went into administration in January 2026 and was absorbed by Next - so there is no longer an official Russell & Bromley website, but potential customers will likely still be searching for it." That gap appears to be central to the scam's effectiveness. Without an official standalone website, consumers searching for the brand are more likely to rely on whichever sources appear first, whether through search engines or AI tools. Fraudulent sites can exploit that vacuum by presenting themselves as legitimate retailers. The issue also highlights how people are beginning to use the web differently. AI tools are designed to reduce friction by summarizing information and presenting direct answers, often with embedded links. That convenience can make users less likely to scrutinize those links or verify the underlying sources, especially when the information is presented as a single, authoritative response. Louise Baxter, head of the scams team at National Trading Standards, said that assumption of reliability is exactly what fraudsters are exploiting. "Consumers are increasingly turning to AI tools for advice and recommendations, but criminals are adapting just as quickly. The fact that scam websites can appear in AI-generated results is worrying, and is a stark reminder that fraudsters will exploit any new technology that helps them reach potential victims," she said. There are still familiar warning signs. Fraudulent sites often rely on bank transfers instead of standard payment methods, use slightly altered domain names, and advertise unusually steep discounts. But their appearance in AI-generated responses adds a layer of credibility that can make those red flags easier to overlook. Retailers and platforms are working to contain the issue. A Dunelm spokesperson said customers should shop only through the company's official website or authorized app. The company said it takes action to remove fraudulent sites when they are identified. Next, which acquired Russell & Bromley earlier this year, said it is "aware of the situation" and has been working to have the sites taken down. A ChatGPT spokesperson said the fraudulent websites had been removed from its search index and that users can report suspicious sites through the company's reporting form. The broader issue is far from resolved. As AI tools play a larger role in how people search, shop, and make decisions, they also inherit the risks of the web they draw from. Cloned retail sites appearing in AI-generated answers illustrate how quickly online scams are evolving alongside the technology itself.

ChatGPT was caught recommending fake scam stores

Researchers suspect "AI poisoning" is helping fraudulent pages infiltrate large language models and appear in recommendations. AI shopping assistants promise to make buying products easier, but a growing wave of fraud shows they can sometimes bring whole new risks. The Guardian has reported that there have been instances where ChatGPT has led users to convincing fake retail websites and even suggested products that were never real. According to findings shared by scam-detection service Ask Silver, cloned online stores have started to appear in ChatGPT-generated shopping results. Fraudsters operated websites that looked authentic but actually featured links to popular brands such as Russell & Bromley or Dunelm for users searching for them. Those who placed orders lost money but also had their payment details exposed. One reason for the confusion is that Russell & Bromley ceased to exist as a standalone retailer after going into administration in January 2026 and being swallowed up by Next. Scammers jumped in to fill the void with lookalike pages, as shoppers still looked for the brand's original website. These attacks may use what researchers think is "AI poisoning," a technique where bad actors inundate the web with fake information and cloned pages that are eventually absorbed by large language models. It unwittingly promotes scams by promoting fake sources as if they were real. Consumer protection experts say people shouldn't assume a recommendation can be trusted just because it's coming from an AI chatbot. Criminals are quick to adapt to new technology and will use any channel that gives them access to potential victims, said Louise Baxter, head of the scams team at National Trading Standards. The warning signs are still the same. Massive discounts, strange website addresses, bad contact information, and requests for bank transfers should all be suspect. Experts recommend going directly to the sites of the official retailers instead of relying on AI-generated links. Some of the flagged sites have been taken down by OpenAI after being reported, but the bigger problem remains. With AI tools playing an even bigger role in how people search and shop online, companies will require stronger safeguards to prevent scammers from turning helpful recommendations into costly mistakes.

ChatGPT is recommending scam websites that will steal your credit card info

The chatbot is surfacing fraudulent clones of defunct retail brands, and scammers are deliberately engineering sites to game its recommendations. Scammers have found a new way to reach shoppers: getting ChatGPT to do their marketing for them. According to The Guardian, scam-checking service Ask Silver found that OpenAI's chatbot is recommending fraudulent retail websites built to harvest payment details from unsuspecting buyers. The sites mimic real storefronts and use official-looking URLs, making them difficult to spot without scrutiny. Defunct brands are a prime target Scammers appear to be deliberately targeting brands that have recently shut down or been acquired, leaving a gap between consumer demand and an official web presence. Recommended Videos Ask Silver's Anna Jones told The Guardian that Russell & Bromley, the British footwear retailer that went into administration in January 2026, is one example. With no official site remaining after Next absorbed the brand, fraudsters built a convincing clone and optimized it to surface in ChatGPT's results. Shoppers who ask the chatbot for Russell & Bromley products by name get pointed straight to it. Jones said one possible explanation is that bad actors have seeded ChatGPT's training data with content designed to promote fraudulent pages, a technique sometimes called data poisoning. OpenAI appears to have updated its results for shopping queries related to Russell & Bromley, and it now shows a warning stating, "Several websites currently advertising Russell & Bromley products at 80% appear suspicious and may not be official retailers. Recent reports have highlighted fake Russell & Bromley stores appearing in AI-powered search results." A bigger problem as AI takes over shopping Research published last year found that ChatGPT already struggles to give consistent, reliable product recommendations, but misdirecting users to scam sites is a more serious failure. The problem is likely to grow as AI becomes a more active part of the buying process. Louise Baxter of the UK's National Trading Standards told The Guardian that fraudsters adapt quickly to new technology. With agentic AI shopping already in its early stages, the window to address this vulnerability is narrow.

ChatGPT Caught Recommending "Products" That Are Just Scams That Steal Your Credit Card Info

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech ChatGPT is getting duped by fraudulent storefronts run by scammers -- which means you might be getting duped, too. According to the scam-checking service Ask Silver, the OpenAI chatbot is recommending cloned versions of defunct websites that capitalize on familiar brands to steal your money and bank details, The Guardian reports. A perfect illustration of the type of scam website that ChatGPT turned up was a knockoff of the British footwear and handbag retailer Russell & Bromley. "In this instance it looks like scammers are taking advantage of the fact that Russell & Bromley went into administration in January 2026 and was absorbed by Next -- so there is no longer an official Russell & Bromley website, but potential customers will likely still be searching for it," Anna Jones at Ask Silver told The Guardian. Alarmingly, ChatGPT recommended the fraudulent sites when directly asked for "popular Russell & Bromley purses and bags." The specific nature of the query might lead to the potential Russell & Bromley customer letting their guard down, expecting the AI to pull from the official website. The fake websites can look convincing and use official-sounding URLs -- like "therussellbromleyofficial dot com," for instance. Jones told The Guardian that it's possible that ChatGPT's underlying LLM has been "poisoned" by malicious content snuck into its training data, which predisposes it to turning up fraudulent pages. It's another sign of how even leading AI models can be manipulated to peddle whatever a bad actor wants. Earlier this year, a BBC journalist demonstrated how he'd tricked ChatGPT into telling other users a complete fabrication: that he was a renowned hot dog eating champion, which he accomplished simply by writing a blog post designed to game the chatbot's algorithms. With that said, AI chatbots' proclivity for recommending dodgy websites isn't new -- nor is being used as an avenue for facilitating scams. But it takes another level of urgency as tech companies ramp up their push for letting AI agents shop for you. So far, letting an AI pull the trigger on a purchase isn't nearly as popular as simply using a chatbot for recommendations, but the groundwork for the latter is being laid; ChatGPT lets customers buy everything from within the chatbot interface and has an entire shopping hub, Amazon gives users the option of letting its shopping AI assistant automatically buy products that drop below a certain price, and Google continues to fine-tune a new payments protocol that allows AI agents to make purchases on your behalf. Credit card companies, meanwhile, are working on new technical standards to prevent AI agents from draining your bank account. If AI agentic shopping hits the mainstream in the future, you can bet that clever scammers will be lying in wait. "Consumers are increasingly turning to AI tools for advice and recommendations, but criminals are adapting just as quickly," Louise Baxter, the head of the scams team at the UK's National Trading Standards, told The Guardian. "The fact that scam websites can appear in AI-generated results is worrying, and is a stark reminder that fraudsters will exploit any new technology that helps them reach potential victims."