OpenAI disrupts Cambodia-based romance-task scam network using ChatGPT

Operation “Date Bait”: AI-enabled scam targeting loveseekers

OpenAI banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts and one API customer likely operating out of Cambodia. They ran a semi-automated romance-task scam targeting Indonesian men, using AI for ad copy, flirtatious chat, and translation. The workflow moved victims from social media ads to Telegram, then pressured them into paying escalating 'mission' fees. Internal scammer reports pasted into ChatGPT claimed hundreds of targets and thousands of dollars a day, though OpenAI could not independently verify those figures.