Use "pause, think, and ask" on a suspicious text or email
OpenAI says its free workshops for older adults, run with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP, teach people to run a suspicious message past ChatGPT and look for warning signs like urgency, secrecy, and odd links. The company says people ask ChatGPT to check suspicious messages, emails, and websites tens of millions of times a week.
What they did
The in-person workshops, held in 10 U.S. cities including several Senior Planet locations, walk through common scam warning signs and a simple rule: pause, think, and ask.
How it went
This is OpenAI's own announcement, not an independent account of results. The usage figure is the company's claim.
Worth knowing
Don't click links in the message, even to "check" them. Remove your personal details before pasting, or describe the message in your own words. If it claims to be your bank, Medicare, or Social Security, call the number on your card or the official website.
Try it yourself
Copy this into ChatGPT (or any AI assistant). Replace the parts in [brackets] with your own details.
I got this message and I'm not sure it's real. I've removed my personal details and the links: [paste the message]. Using the pause, think, and ask approach: (1) list any warning signs (urgency, secrecy, threats, requests for payment or codes, an odd sender), (2) tell me how likely this is to be a scam and why, and (3) tell me the safe way to check it myself without using any contact details in the message.
Source: OpenAI, OpenAI, Sep 16, 2026. Read the original →
A company's own story about its product. Not independent. Summarized in our own words. Spotted a mistake or want this removed? Tell us.