# Scam uses custom GPT and Google ads to direct users toward malware

_Published Friday, October 2, 2026 at 2:46 PM EDT · Security · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![This new ChatGPT scam tricks you into installing malware – how to spot the trap — Primary](https://www.zdnet.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/ChatGPT-fake.jpg)

A scam uses sponsored Google search results to send users to a custom GPT on the genuine ChatGPT domain, where it presents a false service-availability notice, ZDNET reports. Its reporter encountered the scam while searching for ChatGPT, although an editor making the same search reached the normal service.

The custom GPT repeatedly directs users to a supposed backup site hosted on Google Sites. That page displays a fake Cloudflare check and instructs users to run a Windows PowerShell command that installs malware. Google told ZDNET it was looking into the matter.

## Sources

- [ZDNET](https://www.zdnet.com/innovation/chatgpt-scam-malware-trap/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/6RKBye-NAVolrWi0cjZJ25
Published: 2026-10-02T18:46:03.546Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-02T18:18:57.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-03T01:57:39.545Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)