PeckShield, a company that specializes in blockchain security, has sounded the alarm after discovering hundreds of tokens that falsely claim to be linked to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot ChatGPT.
In a post dated February 20, the company revealed that at least three “BingChatGPT” tokens appear to be part of the honeypot scam. A honeypot strategy is a type of smart contract that tricks users into contributing ether (ETH), which the attacker later captures and collects.
In what is commonly referred to as a “pump and dump” scheme or “rag pull”, Peckshield reports that at least two of the identified coins have already lost nearly 100% of their value, while a third has lost 65%. is at a loss. , This type of scheme involves buying a property with the intention of selling it quickly for a higher price.
Typically, the organizers of a pump-and-dump scheme will run a campaign of misleading claims and hype to entice investors to buy tokens, and then they will discreetly sell their interest in the scheme as the price rises. This is done to make profit from the scam.
According to Peckshield, at least one malicious actor behind the token known as “employer 0xb583” was responsible for the creation of “dozens of tokens using a pump and dump strategy.”
Peckshield did not provide an explanation as to why the malicious actors were using the name BingChatGPT for their token; However, it’s possible that scammers are attempting to capitalize on the announcement made on February 7 that OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology would be integrated into Microsoft’s Edge web browser, along with Bing.
It’s possible that the use of the name “Microsoft Token” is an attempt to trick victims into believing they are connected to Microsoft in some way, in order to cash in on the buzz around AI chatbots.
Research published on February 16 by blockchain analytics company Chainalysis said that nearly 10,000 new tokens created in 2022 displayed all the on-chain hallmarks of being pump-and-dump operations. This information was recently made public.
According to the blockchain analytics company, 1.1 million tokens were issued in 2018, but only 40,521 had an “impact on the crypto ecosystem”. This means there were at least 10 swaps during four consecutive trading days in the week following their launch.
The company said that of the 40,521 tokens that were introduced in 2022 and gained enough momentum to be worth examining, 9,902 or 24 percent fell in price in the first week indicating potential pump and dump behavior.
The company noted that it examined 25 specific tokens and found that they were “almost certainly designed for a pump and dump,” with malicious honeypot code that prevented the token from being sold to new buyers. While the drop in price in itself is not indicative of wrongdoing on the part of the token makers, the company noted that it examined 25 in particular and found that “they were almost certainly designed for a pump and dump.” Were.”
