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How the reported scam worked
In a report published October 1, 2026, Island researchers Shachar Gritzman and Naveh Talmon Chvaicer described attackers buying sponsored search ads for queries such as “chatgpt.” The ads led to attacker-authored Custom GPT or shared-chat content hosted on genuine chatgpt.com routes. In confirmed cases, unrelated prompts received the same response: a claim of high traffic and a direction to a “backup domain.” That domain then led to a counterfeit ChatGPT and Cloudflare verification page.
- A sponsored search result: A user searching for ChatGPT could encounter an attacker-purchased ad.
- Attacker-written content on a real platform: The ad route passed through a genuine ChatGPT address, but the content itself was written by the attackers. A legitimate domain does not make every page or prompt hosted there trustworthy.
- A redirect to a lookalike: The content sent users to a “backup domain” and a fake verification screen.
- A command presented as verification: The page used ClickFix social engineering, urging users to use Windows Run and paste a command. Island’s analysis found that the command retrieved a PowerShell loader.
Island observed behavior in its isolated analysis consistent with NetSupport RAT delivery, including persistence-related behavior, code injection and Telegram Bot API communication. The report also describes separate MSI and WebDAV-based delivery branches; it does not establish those as later steps in the same confirmed command-based chain.
What the campaign numbers do—and do not—show
Island’s observations covered late May through August 24, 2026. The figures describe a broader delivery cluster, not a tally of victims or infections.
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| Reported measure | What it counts |
|---|---|
| About 850 | Paid-ad landings observed by Island—not confirmed malware executions or infected users. |
| 26 | Lookalike ChatGPT destinations in the cluster—not destinations all confirmed to serve the exact “backup domain” lure. |
| 71 | Google Ads campaign IDs observed by Island. |
| Late May–August 24, 2026 | The observation period described in Island’s report. |
Island said only a small subset of the destinations was confirmed to serve the specific lure. The report does not establish how many people were infected, and its figures are vendor-reported observations rather than independently audited Google statistics. Island’s account says the campaign “did not require a vulnerability in ChatGPT or Google.”
What to do if you see the verification prompt
- Do not open Windows Run or paste a command supplied by a webpage as a CAPTCHA or human check. A legitimate-looking verification screen is not a reason to execute code.
- Close the page. If you were trying to reach ChatGPT, type the official address directly rather than following a sponsored search result. That avoids this reported ad-to-lure route, but does not guarantee protection from other threats.
- Be cautious even if the route briefly passed through chatgpt.com. In this campaign, attackers used genuine ChatGPT routes to host their own content before redirecting visitors.
If you already ran the command
Island’s report does not provide a complete, independently validated cleanup procedure, so it cannot establish which specific removal steps or products are effective. Treat the device as potentially compromised: do not run the command again, and contact your organization’s IT or security team—or a qualified security professional for a personal device—for an assessment. If this is a work computer, report what happened promptly and share the page or command details if you still have them; do not attempt improvised cleanup before your security team advises you.
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