{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-16T08:09:21.566Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"costs","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"unknown","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":0,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":2,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":2,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-openai-deactivated-chatgpt-account-for-cyber-abuse-android-developer-building-remote-support-tool-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I build Android apps and run a small company in Pakistan'; 'I was building a remote ADB support tool'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they build Android apps, run a small company in Pakistan, and were building a remote ADB support tool when the account was deactivated.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The account was deactivated for'; 'I pay $200 a month, and the account holds 62,500 credits I can no longer reach'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says the account was deactivated for \"Cyber Abuse\", that they pay $200 a month, and that the account holds 62,500 credits they can no longer reach.","causal_attribution":"Poster links the deactivation to their ChatGPT questions about ADB and remote connections; OpenAI did not say what was flagged."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'It was rejected with no explanation, and the reply said no further appeals would be considered'; 'The case was closed and they told me they would not respond'; 'A support agent then replied with a generic message telling me to appeal again'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says the appeal was rejected with no explanation, support closed the case, and the Informal Dispute Resolution form produced a generic message telling them to appeal again.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'An automated system made the call'; 'I wrote it as if I knew no person looked'; 'A support tool and a RAT share most of the plumbing'; 'neither of them said what was flagged beyond the words'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The post says an automated system made the decision; in a later reply the poster says they wrote as if they knew no person had looked, that they do not know this, and that a support tool and a remote-access trojan share most of their plumbing.","causal_attribution":"Poster attributes the decision to automation and qualifies that attribution in a reply."}],"effects":[{"label":"paid ChatGPT account deactivated for \"Cyber Abuse\", with 62,500 credits out of reach (poster's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"appeal, support and dispute routes closed without a stated reason (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1wxaawk/openai_deactivated_my_account_for_cyber_abuse/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-05: full self-text and 31 comments (8 by the poster), retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-openai-cyber-abuse-adb-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["work","finance"],"unknowns":["What OpenAI flagged, and whether a person reviewed the deactivation or the appeal.","When the account was deactivated, and whether it or the credits were later restored or refunded.","What the prompts contained beyond the poster's description."],"geography":{"basis":"The poster says they \"build Android apps and run a small company in Pakistan\", recorded as the affected person's country on that statement; the poster does not separately say where they live. No event country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["PK"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter's public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of a paid AI account being deactivated with no stated reason and no working appeal route, described with attribution, with the poster's own qualification recorded and without corroboration. The poster's handle is not recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-05"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The account is for an AI product, and the poster says the deactivation followed their ChatGPT conversations about a remote support tool. The poster states that an automated system made the decision and later concedes they do not know whether a person reviewed it.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person forum account: a poster who says they build Android apps and run a small company in Pakistan writes that OpenAI deactivated their $200-a-month ChatGPT account for \"Cyber Abuse\" while they were building a remote support tool, and that the appeal, support and dispute routes all closed without a stated reason","summary":"In a public post to r/OpenAI on 4 October 2026, a person who says they build Android apps and run a small company in Pakistan writes that OpenAI deactivated their ChatGPT account for \"Cyber Abuse\" while they were asking about ADB, remote connections and networking for a customer support tool. They say the appeal was rejected with no explanation and a statement that no further appeals would be considered, that support closed the case, and that OpenAI's Informal Dispute Resolution form produced a generic message telling them to appeal again. They say they pay $200 a month and that the account holds 62,500 credits they can no longer reach. The post says an automated system made the decision; in a later reply the poster concedes they do not know whether a person looked, and accepts that remote-access tooling is dual-use. OpenAI's reasons are not known and the account is uncorroborated.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-04","aiSystem":"ChatGPT, on an account the poster says costs $200 a month, and OpenAI's account enforcement and appeal process; the poster first called the decision automated and later said they do not know whether a person looked","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster says OpenAI deactivated their paid ChatGPT account for \"Cyber Abuse\" during ordinary development work, leaving 62,500 credits out of reach on a $200-a-month plan, and that the appeal, support and dispute routes closed without a stated reason (first-person account, uncorroborated; the poster concedes they do not know whether a person reviewed the decision).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster. The company's staff and customers are not counted because no harm to them is described. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"unknown","platformType":"assistant","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1wxaawk/openai_deactivated_my_account_for_cyber_abuse/","primarySourceLabel":"r/OpenAI, 4 October 2026: \"OpenAI deactivated my account for \"Cyber Abuse\" while I was building a remote ADB support tool. Appeal rejected with no explanation.\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-05T03:16:16.171676+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T03:16:16.171676+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","openai","chatgpt","account-deactivation","cyber-abuse-flag","appeal","no-stated-reason","pakistan","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2025-cruise-shuttle-booking-call-to-reportedly-ai-surfaced-number-card-charges","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"needed to book a shuttle to catch a cruise ship","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"was highlighted in Google's","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"fooled by an impostor for Royal Caribbean customer service","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The rep offered to waive the shuttle fees","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"agreed to pay $768","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"in Las Vegas, needed to book a shuttle","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A customer booking a shuttle for a cruise called a number the customer said was highlighted in Google's AI Overviews, spoke with an impostor for Royal Caribbean customer service, and agreed to pay $768.","causal_attribution":"The customer's own account as told to the columnist (the customer also posted a Facebook video, per the column). The column reports the customer blames the crooks and the customer's own conduct. The AI Overview is reported as the way the customer found the number. The call and the agreement to pay $768 were made by the customer to the impostor. The column does not say the $768 was charged."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"When two bogus card charges landed the next day","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"unfamiliar company name that came through on the credit card charge","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"watching for more bogus charges or attempted identity theft","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"the charges were reversed.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"and the charges were reversed.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Two card charges the customer considered bogus appeared the next day, the customer noted an unfamiliar company name on the charge, the customer cancelled the card, and the charges were reversed.","causal_attribution":"The customer's account. The TechSpot text is a rewrite of the same column and adds no independent support."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Google and ChatGPT identifying the same number that fooled","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"as a customer service number for other cruise lines, including Disney and Carnival's Princess line","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Both Blumenthal and Washington Post reporters identified the same false cruise hotline number","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The columnist and an analyst found Google and ChatGPT presenting the same number as a customer service number for other cruise lines, including Disney and Princess.","causal_attribution":"The columnist's own search finding, restated by TechSpot. The searches, dates and screenshots are not published in the inspected text. No other customer of those cruise lines is reported harmed. Disney and Princess did not respond to the columnist."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"has \"taken action\" on several impostor number examples","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"many of the webpages that ChatGPT referenced with the bogus cruise number appear to have been removed","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Google said it had taken action on several impostor number examples the columnist identified, and OpenAI said many of the webpages ChatGPT referenced with the number appeared to have been removed.","causal_attribution":"Company statements to the columnist. Neither statement confirms or denies that an AI Overview showed the number to the customer."}],"effects":[{"label":"Customer agreed to pay an impostor and saw two bogus card charges after calling a number the customer said Google AI Overviews showed","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/google-ai-pointed-him-customer-185643548.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"wapo-ovide-column"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.techspot.com/news/109110-new-scam-uses-google-ai-search-results-trick.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"wapo-ovide-column"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["The date of the call is not stated. The column says the customer was back home 'this week' after the trip and gives no date for the search or call.","The original washingtonpost.com page could not be retrieved (no body, Wayback 403). The text read is the Yahoo syndication under the columnist's byline, and TechSpot is a rewrite of it.","Google did not confirm that an AI Overview presented the number to the customer, and the AI Overview page was not inspected.","The reversal of the charges is the customer's account. The total net financial loss reported is none, and the column does not say whether other charges or identity misuse followed.","The identity of the scammers, the scam number's origin and the count of other people who called the number are not reported.","Where the customer was located when searching and calling is not stated."],"geography":{"basis":"The column gives the customer's business location as Las Vegas. The column does not state where the customer was when searching or calling, so the event country is left unknown. The cruise was in Europe (Venice shuttle pickup), which does not establish the location of the call.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"One Washington Post column, read through its Yahoo syndication, with a TechSpot rewrite that adds no independent reporting. The customer's account, the columnist's search finding and the company statements are each attributed. The customer is not named because the customer is a private individual. The event date is not stated, so the case is published undated.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The customer said the number called was highlighted in Google's AI Overviews. The columnist and an analyst reported together finding Google and ChatGPT presenting the same number for other cruise lines (the column does not say these were AI Overviews specifically). Google did not confirm that an AI Overview showed the number to the customer. The Google search page the customer saw was not inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Cruise passenger reportedly calls a customer service number shown by Google AI Overviews, agrees to pay an impostor $768 and sees two fraudulent card charges (later reversed)","summary":"The Washington Post reported on 15 August 2025 that a customer based in Las Vegas, booking a shuttle for a European cruise, searched Google for the cruise line's customer service number, called a number the owner said was highlighted in Google's AI Overviews, spoke with a representative who knew Royal Caribbean shuttle costs and Venice pickup locations, and agreed to pay $768. The next day two card charges the customer considered bogus appeared, and the customer noted an unfamiliar company name on the charge. The owner cancelled the card and the charges were reversed. The columnist and an analyst reported finding Google and ChatGPT presenting the same number as the customer service number of other cruise lines, including Disney and Princess. Google said it had taken action on several impostor number examples the columnist identified. OpenAI said many of the pages ChatGPT referenced had been removed. The event date is not stated in the sources.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-08-15","aiSystem":"Google AI Overviews (and ChatGPT, for the same number as found by the reporter)","aiProduct":"Google AI Overviews","aiCompany":"Google","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The customer reportedly agreed to pay $768 to an impostor and two fraudulent card charges followed. The column does not say whether the $768 was one of the two charges. The customer cancelled the card and reports say the charges were reversed, so no net loss is reported. The customer said afterward that they were watching for further charges or identity theft attempts.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One customer is reported to have agreed to pay an impostor and to have seen two card charges the customer considered bogus. Customers of other cruise lines are not reported harmed and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/google-ai-pointed-him-customer-185643548.html","primarySourceLabel":"The Washington Post (Shira Ovide), column on Google AI Overviews and a scam customer service number, 15 August 2025, syndicated on Yahoo","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T13:28:58.40908+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:59.96103+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]}]}