Bet Bot: Gambling spam network

This case study was originally published in OpenAI’s October 2024⁠(opens in a new window) report.

Actor

We banned a set of accounts using our API to generate conversations with users on X and send them links to gambling sites. This activity accessed our models via an Israel-based startup. Given the operation’s focus on sharing links to gambling sites and its large-scale use of what were likely automated accounts on X, we have dubbed it operation “Bet Bot”.

Behavior

Like operations “Bad Grammar” and “A2Z”, this operation leveraged our models to manage different fake personas for use on social media. For example, it generated bios, researched social media accounts to follow, analyzed posts and comments, and drafted replies in English. The replies were then posted on X. The accounts on X typically featured AI-generated profile pictures, had sports-themed banners and bios, in some cases claimed to be based in bastions of UK soccer like Manchester and Liverpool, and were largely created in December 2023 or June 2024.

Even though some of these accounts featured AI-generated profile pictures—which are designed to appear unique—the operation sometimes reused those images across multiple accounts. Some also had suspicious, improbable names, such as “KobeBryantJohnson”. Even in a relatively intricate operation such as this, the operators sometimes took shortcuts that potentially undermined their own effectiveness.

The operation’s completions were of two types. Some were designed and deployed as public comments on X. Typically, the operation would pick a short conversation from X where more than one person had already engaged, and generate a comment in reply. One of its fake personas would then post that reply in the comment thread.