Fraudulent ChatGPT Pro charges spark alarm over unauthorized use of stolen card data

Card companies and financial regulators in Korea are responding to a surge in fraudulent charges for OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro subscription service, with 858 of 1,368 transactions this month—worth about 250 million won—suspected of being unauthorized payments made using stolen card data. The fraud, affecting nine domestic card issuers, is believed to involve criminals using personal information obtained through phishing or purchased on the dark web to create accounts and exploit weaker authorization for overseas transactions.

Card companies and financial regulators in Korea are scrambling to respond to a wave of suspected fraud involving OpenAI's premium ChatGPT Pro subscription service, after hundreds of unauthorized charges were allegedly made using stolen card information. Consumer complaints and testimonies have surged on Instagram and other social media platforms, as well as in local media reports, with users saying they were charged 299,000 won $196 per month for ChatGPT Pro despite never subscribing to the service. According industry data, a total of 1,368 ChatGPT Pro subscription payments worth about 400 million won were processed in Korea so far this month. Of those, 858 transactions, valued at around 250 million won, have been suspected of being fraudulent charges. These fraudulent transactions were identified across nine domestic card issuers. Cybersecurity experts said fraudsters likely used personal information obtained through phishing crimes or purchased on the dark web to create large numbers of ChatGPT accounts. Unlike domestic online payments, some overseas transactions can be authorized us