Dark Web Market for Malicious AI Tools Expands Beyond WormGPT and FraudGPT

Cybercrime forums have sharply increased discussion and sales activity around malicious AI tools, with researchers reporting a 219% rise in mentions of dark AI tools and tactics and a 52% increase in references to jailbreaking mainstream platforms such as ChatGPT. These offerings include jailbroken versions of public generative AI services and customized tools built on open-source large language models, often sold as AI-as-a-Service to support phishing, business email compromise, deepfakes, fraud, vulnerability analysis, malware development, identity fraud, password attacks, credential stuffing, and DDoS operations.

Reporting on the underground market says well-known brands such as WormGPT and FraudGPT are only the most visible examples of a broader ecosystem of rebranded, resold, and short-lived criminal services. Analysts say the main effect of these tools is not breakthrough offensive capability but the removal of safety guardrails, making it easier for lower-skilled actors to generate convincing scam content and some malicious code; the market has also shifted toward repurposed open-source uncensored models, while scams targeting criminals and a reported leak of nearly 19,000 WormGPT user accounts highlight instability and risk inside the ecosystem itself.