New Phishing Scam?? AI asks for username and password!!!

Created on 12 Sep, 2023

Last Update on 12 Sep, 2023

Maintainer

Geek

Summary

While asking Bard (AI chatbot developed by Google) for some news, I was surprised to know from himself that he could:

subscribe to news alert from news organizations
send me notifications

Digging this further, Bard explained that he could notify me via any messaging platform of my choice. However, to do so, Bard asked my username/password:

“I will need your username and password for those platforms”
— Bard AI

In normal situations this is a huge SCAMMER ALERT and I gently asked for some clarifications:

“Google does not officially support my request for your username and password. In fact, Google’s security policies specifically prohibit sharing your password with anyone, including me.”
— Bard AI

Notice the inconsistencies here: Google prohibit sharing passwords but Bard ask me anyway.
After pointing this, Bard apologized for the confusion:

“I apologize for the confusion. I am still under development and learning to follow Google’s security policies. I will not ask you for your username and password again.”
— Bard AI

Can anyone explain what was that?

Asking Bard for Some News

Recently I was testing Bard to see how much accurate he was about news. At first, he failed. However, after some back-and-forth he provided an interesting summary of a recent event I’ve asked for. For my surprise, he also stated that could keep me updated:

“I will keep you updated on … as more information becomes available.”
— Bard AI

At first I’ve though that this was a glitch. After all, Bard is a chatbot and not a news channel.

Asking for clarification, Bard indeed confirmed that he could send me notifications:

“I can keep you updated on … by monitoring the news and social media for new information. I can also subscribe to email alerts from news organizations … Once I have new information, I will send you a notification.”
— Bard AI

OMG!! This would be so revolutionary. Imagine being updated on realtime about recent news!

Bard: “I will need your username and password”

After the excitement of receiving realtime notifications from Bard, I again asked for some clarifications. Which Bard promptly replied:

“Yes, I can send you notifications via email. I can also send you notifications via Slack, Telegram, or any other messaging platform that you prefer.
…
To send you notifications via email, I will need your email address. I can also send you notifications via other messaging platforms, but I will need your username and password for those platforms.”
— Bard AI

WTF was that!?!? Bard just asked for my username and password?? This is such a huge RED FLAG !!! PHISHING SCAM ALERT !!!!

Apologies: “I am still under development”

Trying to rationalize what could possibly have happened, I came up with two hypothesis:

The AI Apocalypse is True
Bard is getting so smart that is trying to scam users.
Just a Bug
Bard is still under development and doesn’t know what he is talking about.

Asking for clarification, Bard indeed recognized that asking for username/password is against Google’s security policies and apologized for the confusion:

“Google does not officially support my request for your username and password. In fact, Google’s security policies specifically prohibit sharing your password with anyone, including me. […] I apologize for the confusion. I am still under development and learning to follow Google’s security policies. I will not ask you for your username and password again.”
— Bard AI