The Guardian | AI chatbot fraud: the ‘gift card’ subcription that may cost you dear by Shane Hickey
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Some users rely on AI chatbots like Claude for everyday tasks, but a growing scam involves fraudulent “gift‑card” subscriptions that charge victims large sums without their consent. David Duggan, who paid $20 a month for Claude, discovered unauthorized $200 purchases for gift‑card vouchers on his credit‑card statement; Anthropic, the company behind Claude, suspended his account but could not explain the charges. Similar reports on Reddit describe multiple unexpected payments in pounds and euros, with scammers sending the supposed vouchers to victims’ personal emails, suggesting possible email compromise. Anthropic says it is adding new safeguards to block fraudulent gift‑card purchases, canceling suspect subscriptions and issuing refunds, and advises affected users to contact support, cancel the compromised card, and file a charge‑back claim with their bank.
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/may/03/ai-claude-chatbot-gift-card-subcription-scam-mystery-payments
#DavidDuggan #Anthropic #aiartificialintelligence #consumeraffairs #scams
