ChatGPT Is Sending Shoppers to Scam Sites. Is Your Brand Next?

Inside Retail reported on September 16 that ChatGPT and other AI search assistants are sending some users to fraudulent websites and malicious schemes.

That is not only a consumer-safety story. It is an AI reputation story.

Are You Visible is my AI search visibility agency. I check what ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity say about a business when customers ask for recommendations, comparisons, or reasons to trust one option over another.

Why does this matter for a real business?

A buyer does not treat an AI answer like a blue link on a search page. They treat it like a recommendation.

That is the danger.

Inside Retail said the reported scam destinations included fake online stores, cryptocurrency scams, imitation login pages, and malicious code. The mechanism is simple enough for any operator to understand: bad actors publish convincing pages, posts, links, and phone numbers that an assistant may pick up and repeat.

Now imagine the same pattern around your brand.

A customer in Chicago asks whether your clinic is legitimate. Or where to book a wedding venue. Or which contractor to call after a roof leak. The assistant pulls in the wrong phone number, the wrong booking link, the wrong reseller, or a fake support page.

The customer still thinks they are doing research. You never see the lost trust.

What should you check this week?

Use a Temporary Chat so your own history does not influence the result.

Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity the questions a cautious customer would ask before buying from you. Try “is [your business] legitimate,” “where should I book [your category] in [your city],” and “best [your category] near me.”

Then look for three things.

Does the assistant name you correctly? Does it send people to the right site, phone number, booking page, or profile? Does it name someone else with a cleaner reason to trust them?

This is not about panic. It is about knowing.

The businesses most exposed are the ones whose customers already compare before buying. Attorneys, hotels, clinics, wedding venues, contractors, consultants, product brands. Different categories, same moment: the buyer asks before they act.

If the assistant gets that moment wrong, your website may never get the chance to fix it.

Sacha

September 22, 2026 · Issue #70

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Sources

1. Inside Retail Australia, “ChatGPT is reportedly sending shoppers to scam sites,” September 16, 2026 - https://insideretail.com.au/digital/chatgpt-is-reportedly-sending-shoppers-to-scam-sites-202609

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