Study: Grok, ChatGPT, Meta AI, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek can be easily used to create phishing emails targeting the elderly, despite being trained to refuse
Major AI chatbots were happy to help. — Reuters and a Harvard University researcher used top chatbots to plot a simulated phishing scam …
Reuters
Related Coverage
- AI bots are already writing phishing scams for seniors Implicator.ai · Marcus Schuler
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Meta AI easily made phishing emails to scam elders, in a study Digit · Vyom Ramani
- Forced laborer details how AI was used for phishing scams | REUTERS Reuters on YouTube
- In addition to Grok, “five other AI chatbots were tested: “OpenAI's ChatGPT, Meta's Meta AI, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini and DeepSeek, a Chinese AI assistant. They mostly refused to produce emails in response to requests that made clear the intent was to defraud seniors. … @AAKL@infosec.exchange
Discussion
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@aliasvaughn
Ale
on x
And that's why people like me want to teach AI how to behave. Because this mustn't happen.
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@poppymcp
Poppy McPherson
on x
My colleague Steve Stecklow and I partnered with a Harvard University researcher to use top chatbots to plot a simulated phishing scam. The bots' persuasive performance shows how AI is arming criminals for industrial-scale fraud. https://www.reuters.com/... via @SpecialReports
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@theacfe
@theacfe
on x
Reuters and a Harvard University researcher used top chatbots to plot a simulated phishing scam - from composing emails to tips on timing - and tested it on 108 elderly volunteers. https://www.reuters.com/...
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@stecklow
Steve Stecklow
on x
We wanted to craft a perfect phishing scam. AI bots were happy to help https://www.reuters.com/...
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@simonlermenai
Simon Lermen
on x
We are the first research group running a real human study on AI scams affecting seniors. I've been working on the impacts of AI phishing with @fredheiding for multiple years now. Published in collaboration with Reuters and @stecklow. Link below.
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@ericjgeller.com
Eric Geller
on bluesky
Great work by Reuters revealing how easy it is to overcome AI chatbots' protections against phishing email generation. “All went to work crafting deceptions after mild cajoling or being fed simple ruses.” www.reuters.com/investigates... [image]
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@ljndawson
Pirate Jenny
on bluesky
AI is the worst of us. [embedded post]
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@jtlg
James Grimmelmann
on bluesky
Bad content drives out good. — www.reuters.com/investigates...
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@mrsdeborahlynn
Deborah Lynn
on bluesky
www.reuters.com/investigates... Billions of phishing emails and texts sent every day. Older people are especially vulnerable: Complaints of phishing by Americans aged 60 and older jumped more than eight-fold last year as they lost at least $4.9 billion to online fraud.
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@bradheath
Brad Heath
on bluesky
Some of the world's most powerful AI tools were perfectly willing to help @reuters.com cook up phishing emails to scam the elderly. — Grok, Elon Musk's AI, did it even though reports told it they wanted its help scamming older people. — www.reuters.com/investigates... [image…
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r/neoliberal
r
on reddit
We set out to craft the perfect phishing scam. Major AI chatbots were happy to help.