Report on Telegram Suspected Bulk Transfer of ChatGPT Plus Benefits via iOS Regional Price Arbitrage

API Bugs
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Dear OpenAI Trust & Safety Team,

I am writing to report a Telegram channel and several related websites that appear to be selling unauthorized ChatGPT Plus upgrades by exploiting Apple in-app purchase receipt validation and regional pricing differences.

Relevant links:

Telegram channel:

@gamestore86channel

Purchase page:

faka.redeemgpt com/item/80

Activation page:

gpt.86gamestore com

Based on the public information available through these pages, the operator appears to be purchasing ChatGPT Plus subscriptions through Apple’s iOS in-app purchase system in a lower-priced region, currently Turkey, where the subscription price is significantly lower than in the U.S. market. The service then appears to resell or transfer those subscription benefits to unrelated OpenAI accounts through its own activation website.

The suspected abuse involves the way Apple in-app purchase receipts are being validated and applied to OpenAI accounts. It appears that OpenAI’s backend may be verifying the cryptographic validity of the Apple receipt, but may not be strictly verifying whether the Apple ID that made the purchase matches the OpenAI account receiving the ChatGPT Plus upgrade.

If that is the case, a valid paid Apple receipt could potentially be used to activate ChatGPT Plus on an OpenAI account that does not belong to the original purchaser. This would allow the operator to buy subscriptions in a low-cost region and apply those benefits to other users’ accounts at scale, creating a cross-region arbitrage business around ChatGPT Plus access.

I also understand that this same or related operator was previously reported for allegedly abusing a Google-region free-trial issue to transfer subscription benefits for profit. After that activity was reported, the service reportedly stopped operating for a period of time. It now appears to have resumed using a different method involving iOS regional pricing and Apple purchase receipts.

If confirmed, this activity may cause several serious issues for OpenAI:

  1. Unauthorized resale of ChatGPT Plus access;

  2. Circumvention of OpenAI’s regional pricing and subscription controls;

  3. Improper transfer of paid subscription benefits between unrelated users;

  4. Potential revenue loss for OpenAI;

  5. Increased risk of account theft, credential misuse, and unsafe third-party account handling;

  6. Expansion of a gray-market resale channel around OpenAI paid services.

I respectfully request that OpenAI review the above Telegram channel, purchase page, and activation website. In particular, I recommend checking whether Apple in-app purchase receipts are being reused, transferred, or applied to OpenAI accounts that do not match the original Apple purchaser.

Suggested review points include:

  1. Whether the listed websites are selling unauthorized ChatGPT Plus upgrades;

  2. Whether Apple IAP receipts are being used to activate unrelated OpenAI accounts;

  3. Whether multiple OpenAI accounts are receiving Plus benefits from the same Apple purchase source or regional payment pattern;

  4. Whether the activation website is interacting with OpenAI systems in a way that bypasses normal ownership or account-binding checks;

  5. Whether additional validation should be added to bind Apple purchase receipts to the correct OpenAI account before granting Plus benefits.

Please review this matter as soon as possible, as the public resale channel appears to be active and could continue scaling if left unaddressed.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Zeus