As ChatGPT becomes more and more popular, many related tools have appeared on the Internet, especially browser extensions. We have also introduced many useful ones, but recently you need to be more careful when installing them. Some foreign research institutions have discovered that fake extensions have begun to appear in the Chrome App Store, and it is also a very well-known “ChatGPT for Google”. The introduction page is very similar, and unknown users can easily install it by mistake, and then their Facebook accounts may be stolen.
Don’t install the ChatGPT extension indiscriminately, as a fake ChatGPT for Google version will steal your Facebook account.
ChatGPT for Google is a very well-known Chrome extension that allows users to chat with ChatGPT without opening a web page. ChatGPT answers will also be displayed in search results. So far, it has been installed by more than 1 million users and has received a perfect 5-star rating.We have also introduced it before. Recently, foreign organization Bleepingcomputer discovered that a fake extension with the same name, also called ChatGPT for Google, appeared in the Chrome App Store. It has been accumulated more than 9,000 times and contains malicious code. After users install it, it will try to steal the user’s Facebook account through cookies.
This fake ChatGPT for Google was uploaded to the Chrome App Store on February 14, 2023, and was promoted through Google ads until March 14, with an average of 1,000 installations per day. Judging from the screenshots, it looks almost like the real thing, with the same logo and official YouTube videos, so more than 9,000 users installed it by mistake. The rating is only 4 stars, and it was rated by only 6 people:
Not only ChatGPT for Google, a while ago, researchers Nati Tal of Guardio Labs also discovered another ChatGPT extension with built-in malicious code, called Quick access to ChatGPT, which has been installed by 4,000 users. There are also ads on Facebook to attract users to install it. It feels like it was made by the same group of people:
It is worth noting that although this app has built-in malicious code, it does have the ChatGPT API connection function. It is not a completely empty shell that has no effect or provides irrelevant functions, so users may not notice it. Guardio Labs also created a diagram to let everyone know how this problematic ChatGPT extension works.
Note that under the Browser Extension Installation, there is indeed a connection to the OpenAI API on the left, but there is also an action to steal Facebook accounts on the right:
Once a Facebook account is stolen by a hacker, it is possible that the information will be sold to other companies as in the past, or the victim’s Facebook may be hijacked to conduct malicious advertising campaigns, promote ISIS propaganda and other banned topics. In addition, these malicious extensions will automatically change the victim’s login information to prevent the victim from regaining control of the Facebook account, and even switch the profile name and picture to a fake character named “Lilly Collins”:
Both of these extensions have been removed by Google. Anyone who has installed them is recommended to remove them as soon as possible and delete all cookies. If possible, it is safer to reset or reinstall them. And of course, don’t forget to change your Facebook password.
Source: KOCPC Chinese