Beware Of Fake ChatGPT Chrome Extensions Trying To Hack Your Facebook Account
If that sounds cool to you, make absolutely certain that you get the real "ChatGPT for Google" extension. Security firm Guardio reports that there have been multiple copies of the extension on the Chrome Web Store, and the copycat extensions come with something you really don't want: malware.
The modified extensions just ripped off the real thing for their stated function, but their real purpose was to hijack your Facebook account. Literally: the ChatGPT For Google extension—the real one—is open-source, so it was trivial to fork the project and throw in code for Facebook stealer malware. Guardio says the creation of these fake extensions probably takes 2 minutes or less.
Less convenient is that your Facebook account information will be copied from your browser directly into the bad guys' servers, and that'll lead to your account being compromised almost immediately. It's all done programmatically, you know; nobody has to type your password into Facebook. Using API access and clever scripting, your Facebook account gets added to a bot army within minutes or even seconds.
Cleverly, the compromised Chrome extensions don't do anything malicious or even unusual after their payload is delivered. Besides the single malicious action on install—stealing your Facebook account—it seems like the extension completely works as the real version, although we suspect it doesn't update when the real one does. You've got very little reason to suspect anything untoward from the cool new Chrome extension you just got.
As Guardio points out, you can protect yourself from this kind of thing by staying awake and alert at the PC. No joke—you need to be aware of exactly what you're installing and what applications you're running. If it comes from an advertisement, it's probably malicious, so don't install it.
