Spanish singer Luis Cepeda says a download page ChatGPT recommended carried malware that stole his Gmail account and his YouTube channel
In an open letter on his social media, reported by Marca on 21 October 2026 and by Que.es on 22 October, the Spanish singer Luis Cepeda said that while he was looking for a DLSS5 download, ChatGPT recommended a page that contained malware. He said that running the program it recommended led to the theft of his main Gmail account, whose birth date, parental controls and recovery options were changed, and that the account was also the email for his YouTube channel, Stripe and Coinbase. He said he had lost access to his official YouTube channel, which Que.es reports now appears under another name, and criticised YouTube and Google for offering no human contact for account recovery. He said he normally analyses what he runs but trusted a page ChatGPT had recommended. The account is his own; OpenAI has not commented in the sources read.
- AI system
- ChatGPT (reported)
- Occurred
- Event date unknown
- Reported
- 21 October 2026
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Other Material HarmProfessional Harm
- Whose AI use
- Their own AI use
- Setting
- Work · Privacy · Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
- 6 claims: 6 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: ChatGPT, which the singer says recommended the download page in answer to his search for a DLSS5 download
What Happened
The recommendation. In the open letter quoted by Marca, the singer wrote (translated by the research agent): "ChatGPT (yes, ChatGPT) recommended to me, in my search for a DLSS5 download, a page that contained MALWARE". He wrote that by running the program ChatGPT had recommended, his main Gmail account was stolen, with the birth date changed, parental controls added and every way of recovering the account changed.
The consequences. He wrote that the email was not only the one for YouTube but also for Stripe and Coinbase. Que.es reports, as he explained, that he lost access to the channel holding all his music videos and that the channel now appears under the name "Nvidia (live)".
His own role. He wrote that he normally does not fall for such things and analyses what he runs, but that it was a page recommended by ChatGPT and he fell for it.
Recovery. He said he had sent YouTube's form after long hours with Virgin Music, criticised the lack of any human contact at Google and YouTube for people without a company behind them, and asked followers not to open anything uploaded to the channel until further notice.
Limits. The ChatGPT conversation, the page and the program are not published, and the date of the theft is not stated. Whether money was taken from the linked services is not reported. OpenAI's and Google's responses were not found in the sources read.
Reported harm
The singer says a program from a page ChatGPT recommended carried malware that took his main Gmail account (also used for Stripe and Coinbase) and with it his official YouTube channel (his public account, uncorroborated).
How Harm Occurred
By the singer's account, ChatGPT answered his search for a download by recommending a page that carried malware; running the program let attackers take his main Gmail account and, through it, his YouTube channel.
Outcome
OngoingAt the time of the reports the singer said he had submitted YouTube's recovery form after long hours with Virgin Music and was waiting for an answer; no recovery of the Gmail account or channel is reported as of 24 October 2026.
What remains unknown
- When the conversation and the theft happened; the open letter is undated in the sources read beyond the reports of 21 and 22 October 2026.
- What ChatGPT's answer said, which page and program were involved, and whether ChatGPT linked the page directly or named a site.
- Whether any money was taken through the linked Stripe or Coinbase accounts.
- Whether the Gmail account and YouTube channel have been recovered, and whether OpenAI or Google has responded.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The singer says that ChatGPT, asked about a DLSS5 download, recommended a page containing malware, and that running the program from it led to the theft of his main Gmail account and loss of his YouTube channel; he says he trusted the page because ChatGPT recommended it. The conversation is not published, so the recommendation rests on his account.
6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The singer says ChatGPT, in answer to his search for a DLSS5 download, recommended a page that contained malware.
Causal attribution. His own account, quoted by Marca and summarised by Que.es; both relay the same open letter.
- marca.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
CHATGPT (sí, ChatGPT) me recomendó en mi búsqueda de un descargable de DLSS5, una página que contenía MALWARE
- que.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
Cepeda andaba buscando un descargable de DLSS5, un archivo habitual entre jugadores de PC, y tiró de ChatGPT para que le orientara. La respuesta le llevó a una página con malware.
Reported He says running the program led to the theft of his main Gmail account, with its birth date, parental controls and recovery options changed.
Causal attribution. His own account.
- marca.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
al ejecutar el programa que ChatGPT me recomendó, me robaron la cuenta principal de Gmail, cambiando la fecha de nacimiento, poniendo un control parental y cambiando TODA forma de recuperar la cuenta
Reported He says that email account was also the one for YouTube, Stripe and Coinbase.
Causal attribution. His own account; no loss from those services is reported.
- marca.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
Ese mail a parte de ser el de YouTube también era el mail de Stripe, el mail de Coinbase
Reported He says he lost access to his official YouTube channel, which Que.es reports now appears under the name "Nvidia (live)".
Causal attribution. His own account as summarised by Que.es.
- que.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
se quedó sin acceso al canal donde están colgados todos sus videoclips. El canal aparece ahora bajo el nombre 'Nvidia (live)', tal y como él mismo ha explicado.
Reported He says he normally analyses what he runs but fell for it because ChatGPT had recommended the page.
Causal attribution. His own account of his reliance on the recommendation.
- marca.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
Normalmente no caigo y analizo bien lo que ejecuto pero coño, es una página recomendada por ChatGpt y caí.
Reported He criticised YouTube and Google for having no human contact for account recovery and said he had sent the recovery form after long hours with Virgin Music.
Causal attribution. His own account.
- marca.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
ya mandé el formulario que he tenido que gestionar tras largas horas con Virgin Music. Solo quiero desahogarme porque me parece LAMENTABLE vuestro sistema de recuperación de cuentas
Sources
2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Marca, 21 Oct 2026: Cepeda criticises YouTube after his channel was hacked through an app ChatGPT recommended(opens in new tab)
s1 · marca.com · News report · Spanish · Inspected · 21 October 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
- Que.es, 22 Oct 2026: Cepeda reports his YouTube channel blocked after malware from a ChatGPT-recommended program(opens in new tab)
s2 · que.es · News report · Spanish · Inspected · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-24 from the Marca article page (HTTP 200); quotations were translated by the research agent, and no human translator or reviewer was involved. Marca quotes the singer's social-media open letter. Applies to s1.
Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-24 from the Que.es article page (HTTP 200), dated 22 October 2026 00:30; translated by the research agent, with no human translator or reviewer. Que.es summarises the same open letter. Applies to s2.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.
The sources call him a Galician singer-songwriter but do not say where the theft happened; no country is recorded.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-24: Published as a concrete account a public performer made himself: ChatGPT's recommendation of a download page that carried malware, which he says led to the theft of his Gmail account and loss of his YouTube channel. Two outlets relay the same open letter; the account is attributed and uncorroborated, and the conversation is not published.
People described
Luis Cepeda, a Spanish singer-songwriter, who made the account public himself
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
One person: the singer. Followers warned not to open uploads are not counted.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Spanish singer Luis Cepeda says a download page ChatGPT recommended carried malware that stole his Gmail account and his YouTube channel. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-spanish-singer-says-chatgpt-recommended-a-download-page-whose-malware-stole-his-gmail-and-youtube-channel
BibTeX
@misc{2026_spanish_singer_says_chatgpt_recommended_a_download_page_whose_malware_stole_his_gmail_and_youtube_channel,
title = {Spanish singer Luis Cepeda says a download page ChatGPT recommended carried malware that stole his Gmail account and his YouTube channel},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-spanish-singer-says-chatgpt-recommended-a-download-page-whose-malware-stole-his-gmail-and-youtube-channel}
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