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Love in the digital age can sometimes be like navigating a minefield, and now there’s a new mine: LoveGPT. Imagine swiping through potential love matches and suddenly you match with someone who’s almost too ‘good’ to be true. Charming, witty and with a penchant for the same movies and series as you. But before you get too caught up in this new flame, put on the brakes. Because that clever conversation and those fascinating interests could just as easily have been generated by a chatbot as by a real person.
That’s right: the AI chatbot that’s made our lives so much easier has now moved to dating apps. There are scammers now abusing the AI tool to catfish people on dating apps . And it’s a lot smarter than you might think. So before you risk your heart and maybe more, here’s what you need to know.
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How AI is being used for deception
According to a blog post from Avast, a new form of a ” romance scam ” is circulating. A tool, which Avast has dubbed LoveGPT, creates fake accounts on popular dating apps. It is also able to bypass CAPTCHAs and communicate with users. And therein lies the danger: while you think you have a real-life match, you are actually chatting with a chatbot that is after your personal information.
Although the tool has been around for over a decade, it was only a few months ago that it got an upgrade with an integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Avast analyzed the code of LoveGPT and believes that its creator is likely from Vietnam. The program contains several Vietnam-related texts, features, and references.
LoveGPT’s core module has multiple features that allow it to have conversations with users. Think reading inboxes, gathering more information from matches, sending likes, and much more. Combine this with the magic of ChatGPT, like its ability to have conversations that sound deceptively authentic, and it quickly becomes a dangerous tool.
So far, LoveGPT can target users on 13 different dating and discovery platforms. These include names like Tinder , Badoo , Bumble and more. In total, the tool has 58 sign-up forms ready to use and other dating apps can easily be added in the future. LoveGPT is so advanced that it can create fake accounts by bypassing CAPTCHA and verifying phone numbers. It even creates fake email addresses, usernames and passwords.
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Detection is difficult
What makes LoveGPT particularly worrying is that it has several components to remain anonymous. This makes it harder for dating platforms to detect it, and harder for you to realize that you are being scammed. Identifying LoveGPT is no easy task, but Avast does have some recommendations.
Does a conversation feel too good to be true or does a profile seem too slick ? Then do some research yourself. A quick reverse image search can shed a lot of light on the matter. Of course, you also need to stay alert on dating apps, especially if other users ask for your personal information or seem too eager to share their life story. Just like anywhere else on the internet, you don’t want to share personal details like your home address or financial information.
Perhaps more worryingly, the research also suggests that LoveGPT is just the tip of the iceberg. Multiple tools have been discovered that operate in a similarly devious manner, and some even appear to be from the same creator. For example, they’ve also discovered a tool that’s solely focused on Tinder. So the next time you’re on a dating app and someone showers you with compliments or seems interested in your deepest thoughts and feelings, be extra cautious . It could be a bot that’s been expertly programmed to harvest your personal information.
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