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TruaceTracing the truth around AISunday, July 12, 2026
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Crime·P Space·Evidence-backed problem·Published 2026-07-12

AI chatbot fraud: the ‘gift card’ subcription that may cost you dear

David Duggan* was so impressed with the ability of the Claude chatbot to answer medical questions and organise family life, that a $20-a-month (£15) subscription seemed like money well spent. But then his wife spotted two $200 payments on his credit card bill for gift cards to use the artificial intelligence tool. Duggan, who lives on the east coast of the US, had not bought them, and immediately realised something was wrong. “My wife asked me: ‘Hey, did you make these $200 purchases?’ It was $400 in total. And the

TRV-2026-0074JournalismPermanent record — cite & verify
AI chatbot fraud: the ‘gift card’ subcription that may cost you dear
The quick read

David Duggan* was so impressed with the ability of the Claude chatbot to answer medical questions and organise family life, that a $20-a-month (£15) subscription seemed like money well spent. But then his wife spotted two $200 payments on his credit card bill for gift cards to use the artificial intelligence tool.

When he contacted Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of AI tools, his account was suspended, but the computer-generated responses to his questions did not shed any light on what had happened.

Main points
  • David Duggan* was so impressed with the ability of the Claude chatbot to answer medical questions and organise family life, that a $20-a-month (£15) subscription seemed like money well spent.
  • But then his wife spotted two $200 payments on his credit card bill for gift cards to use the artificial intelligence tool.
  • Duggan, who lives on the east coast of the US, had not bought them, and immediately realised something was wrong.
Problem

Adding to Duggan’s concern was that the genuine vouchers were sent to his personal email. But then his wife spotted two $200 payments on his credit card bill for gift cards to use the artificial intelligence tool.

The rundown

Duggan, who lives on the east coast of the US, had not bought them, and immediately realised something was wrong. “My wife asked me: ‘Hey, did you make these $200 purchases?’ It was $400 in total.

Sources

The debate