recently received a Cyber Abuse warning on my OpenAI account related to Codex activity, along with an unexpected API charge for services I have never used. Because both issues appeared around the same time and involve activity I do not recognize or understand, I am concerned they may be connected in some way.
My account was charged $46.29 for Responses and Chat Completions, even though I have not implemented or used those API categories in my project. The entire $46.29 charge occurred between 1:00 PM and 1:59 PM Chicago time, when I was not at home. I was also away from home for roughly four hours before and after that time period.
I am the only person who works on this project and the only person with access to it. I use Codex only for routine software development work on my own React Native/Django application, such as refactoring, debugging, and implementation support.
The unexpected API charges appear to be separate from my normal Codex usage, but I understand the Cyber Abuse warning may be related to Codex activity. That is why I explained my codex usage above.
The only OpenAI API functionality my application uses is text moderation and image moderation. My secret keys are locked down, my app is still very low-profile and not even publicly available, and I reviewed my login activity but did not see any activity from anyone other than myself. Because of that, I would be hard-pressed to believe my account was hacked, but I also do not understand how these charges occurred.
I contacted OpenAI separately about the billing issue and also submitted an appeal regarding the Cyber Abuse warning. However, OpenAI Support stated that they are upholding the warning and will not consider further appeals. I have not yet received a response regarding the separate billing issue.
I find this extremely unfair, especially because I am still seeking a refund for charges I know I did not incur, and I want my account record to accurately reflect that I did not violate any policies.
This is extremely frustrating because I know I did not do anything wrong. OpenAI is more than welcome to review my conversation history and account activity. I would appreciate a refund for the unexpected charge, but more than anything, I would really like the opportunity to speak with a real person who can help explain what happened.
I’m hoping this post can help me get some clarity and the opportunity to speak with a real person who can help me. I’m also more than willing to provide my appeal case number and billing support case number privately to OpenAI staff if that would help.