- A Delhi man used ChatGPT to create a fake payment link capturing a scammer’s location and photo
- The scammer impersonated an IAS officer to sell discounted goods in a Facebook message
- The man confirmed the fraud, then sent a tracker webpage link pretending to speed up payment
A Delhi man managed to outsmart a scammer and make him beg for forgiveness by using ChatGPT to create a fake payment link that captured the fraudster's geolocation and a photograph of his face. The man shared the dramatic account in a Reddit post, that has since gone viral.
The incident started when the man received a message on Facebook from someone impersonating his college senior, an IAS officer. The scammer claimed a friend, a CRPF officer, was being transferred and was selling high-end appliances and furniture at heavily discounted prices. The man grew suspicious because his actual senior already had his direct phone number. After confirming it was a fraud with the real senior, he decided to play along to expose the scammer's operation.
When the scammer, via a different number with an army profile picture, sent a QR code to demand payment, the Delhi man stalled, pretending to have technical issues scanning it.
He then used ChatGPT to build a simple but functional webpage designed to capture the user's GPS location and take a picture using their device's front camera. He hosted the tracker page and sent the link to the scammer, telling him that uploading the QR code there would "expedite the payment process".
Driven by greed and urgency, the scammer clicked the link. The webpage immediately gathered his exact GPS coordinates, IP address, and a clear photo of his face.
The Aftermath
The man then sent the scammer his own photo and location details. This caused the scammer to panic and immediately begin begging for forgiveness in a series of messages, promising to stop his fraudulent activities.
The man shared screenshots of the conversation and the scammer's plea on Reddit under the title, "Used ChatGPT to locate a scammer and made him beg me".
"Scammer tried running an Army transfer/cheap goods scam while impersonating a college senior, an IAS officer. Instead of paying, I used ChatGPT to quickly code a geolocation/front-camera capture link, tricked him into clicking it, and scared plus forced him to turn down the operation immediately by sending him his own photo and coordinates," he wrote.
Used ChatGPT to locate a scammer and made him beg me
byu/RailfanHS indelhi
The post quickly went viral, with the internet applauding his ingenuity in using AI for scam prevention. One user wrote, "Mad respect. I am going to use this. Infact make this open source. Host it somewhere so that we can do it too."
Another commented, "AI used for the right reasons. Good work!"
A third said, "I think there is more to this than simply asking ChatGPT to write code. Maybe someone with your IT background could handle it. The creators of ChatGPT likely implemented limits on its capabilities. Without these restrictions, it would be too easy for someone to trick a non-IT person into revealing sensitive information such as geolocation or access to the front camera."
