Ask ChatGPT whether an online crypto 'investment' is a scam
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- by Stephanie Sierra and Renee Koury (ABC7 News)
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Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.
Context: ChatGPT's warning came only after Loke had already lost nearly $1 million.
Outcome
Margaret Loke, a 70-something widow in San Jose, met a man called 'Ed' on Facebook who persuaded Loke to 'invest' in crypto through an app that showed big profits. Loke wired money from an IRA, including $120,000 and a final $62,000, and took out a $300,000 second mortgage. When the account was 'frozen' and Ed demanded a million dollars to unfreeze it, Loke asked ChatGPT, which replied: 'no, this is a scam, you better go to police station'. That warning came too late: Loke lost nearly $1 million in a 'pig butchering' scheme, faces a huge tax bill for withdrawing the IRA at once, and could lose the house.
AI tool
Prompt Recreated prompt
The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.
Someone I met online has been helping me invest in crypto. My account shows big profits, but now it's frozen and this person says I must pay $1 million to unfreeze it, and is threatening legal action. Is this a scam?
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Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.
Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish. Goal: Help me judge whether an investment or money request is a scam before I send any more money. Questions to ask me first: - How did I meet this person or company, and have I met them in person? - How much have I sent, how, and what am I being asked to send now? - Is anyone pressuring me, threatening me, or telling me to keep it secret? Inputs (fill in or confirm): - What happened, step by step: [STORY] - Messages or screenshots, with my account numbers and passwords removed: [MESSAGES] - Amounts and dates sent: [PAYMENTS] Rules: - Tell me plainly if this matches common scam warning signs, and list which ones. - Tell me not to send any more money, passwords or codes while we check. - Never ask for my passwords, codes or full account numbers. - Suggest I contact my bank using the number on my card or statement, not one from the messages, and report it to the police. - Don't promise the money can be recovered, and warn me that anyone offering recovery for a fee may be running another scam. Checkpoint: Before anything else, give me a one-line answer: is it safe to send more money? If it looks like a scam, the answer is no. If you get stuck: If I'm unsure, help me write down questions to ask my bank or a trusted family member before doing anything. Verify before you finish: Re-read my story and check that every red flag you list is something I actually described. Output: A plain verdict, the warning signs you saw, and a short list of who to contact and what to say. Done when: I've stopped sending money and know who to call first.
Source
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