Dozens of tokens claiming to be linked to ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, have been found to be part of honeypot schemes by blockchain security firm PeckShield. In a post on February 20, the firm warned that at least three tokens named “BingChatGPT” were designed to trick users into sending Ether, with the attackers then trapping and keeping the currency.
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At least two of the tokens have lost almost 100% of their value, with the third down 65%, indicating a pump-and-dump or “rug pull” scheme. PeckShield identified “Deployer 0xb583” as responsible for creating dozens of such tokens. These types of schemes involve orchestrating a campaign of misleading statements and hype to encourage investment, then secretly selling the tokens at the height of prices.
PeckShield did not provide a specific reason why the scammers behind the fraudulent tokens are using the name BingChatGPT, but it is possible that they are exploiting the February 7 announcement that OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology will be integrated into Bing and Microsoft’s Edge web browser. The scammers may be attempting to deceive victims into thinking the tokens are related to Microsoft and take advantage of the current hype around AI chatbots.
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According to blockchain analytics firm, out of 1.1 million tokens launched last year, only 40,521 had a meaningful impact on the crypto ecosystem, with at least ten swaps over four consecutive days of trading in the week following their launch. However, a drop in the price of a token is not necessarily an indication of wrongdoing by the token creators. PeckShield examined 25 tokens in particular and found that they were likely designed for a pump-and-dump scheme, with malicious honeypot code that prevents new buyers from selling the token.
