u/Acceptable_Effort343

BEWARE OF THIS STUPID FUCKING WEBSITE: https://chat.chatbotapp.ai/gpt5

i'M posting this because I do not want this to happen to anyone else, especially students who are rushing to finish assignments.

I was trying to use Claude AI for a zoom in-class assignment. I searched for what I thought was Claude, clicked into a site that looked like an AI chatbot platform, and it advertised access to models like Claude, OpenAI/GPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, etc.

At first glance, I thought, “Okay, maybe this is some kind of AI hub.” But when I got to the payment screen, I noticed something felt off.

The charge was only $1.99 for a 7-day trial, so because I was stressed and trying to get my classwork done, I ignored my gut feeling and paid using Apple Pay.

That was my mistake.

After paying, I realized the website was not the real Claude website. The official Claude site is claude.ai. The site I used was a separate chatbot app/AI aggregator site, not Anthropic/Claude.

The payment showed up through Paddle, and the merchant information looked unfamiliar. In my case, Apple Pay showed a weird company name instead of Anthropic or Claude. That was the huge red flag I should not have ignored.

After logging into the site, I saw that I had been placed on a Pro subscription and that it would auto-renew after the trial period. The site had a “Cancel Plan” option, but it was not working at first. It said something like the subscription information was still updating and could take up to a few hours.

That immediately made me panic.

Here is what I did to clean it up:

1. I checked the payment details. The charge was $1.99 through Apple Pay and processed by Paddle. Since I used Apple Pay, the merchant did not get my full card number, which made me feel slightly better.
2. I checked my Google account permissions. I had used “Sign in with Google,” so I went to my Google Account settings and looked under third-party apps/linked apps. I found the app listed as “Chatbot App.” It only had basic profile access, but I removed it immediately.
3. I revoked the Google connection. After removing access, Google confirmed that I was no longer using Chatbot App with my Google Account.
4. I found the Paddle receipt. This was the most important part. The receipt from Paddle gave me a way to manage the subscription.
5. I canceled the subscription through Paddle. The website’s cancel button was not working at first, but Paddle allowed me to cancel the subscription.
6. I requested a refund through Paddle. Paddle issued a full refund for the $1.99. The refund email said it could take up to 5 days to appear on my statement.
7. I checked my credit card activity. I saw the original $1.99 charge and then a pending refund for $1.99.
8. I deleted the account on the chatbot site. After the subscription showed as Free and the refund was issued, I deleted the account. The site logged me out and returned me to the homepage.

Thankfully, I caught it within about an hour. The damage was basically contained to a $1.99 temporary charge, basic Google profile info, and a lot of stress.

What scared me most was that the site looked polished enough to seem legitimate when I was rushing. It showed multiple AI models and made it seem like I was getting access to Claude. But the key warning signs were:

• The URL was not claude.ai
• The payment merchant was not Anthropic
• It offered access to many major AI models in one place
• It pushed a cheap trial
• It created a recurring Pro subscription
• The cancellation button was not immediately functional
• The fine print said the chatbot was not affiliated with the companies that created the LLMs

My advice:

If you want Claude, go directly to:

claude.ai

Do not search and click the first random result. Do not trust a site just because it says it offers Claude, GPT, Gemini, or other models. If the URL is not the official company URL, pause.

Also, if this happens to you:

• Do not panic.
• Check your email for the Paddle receipt.
• Cancel through Paddle if the site uses Paddle.
• Request a refund.
• Revoke Google access under your Google Account security settings.
• Save screenshots.
• Monitor your card for a week.
• If the refund is denied or another charge appears, contact your credit card company.

I feel embarrassed, but honestly, this happened because I was rushing for school and ignored my gut. Posting this so someone else does not get trapped by the same thing.

TL;DR: I thought I was paying for Claude, but it was a third-party chatbot site with a $1.99 trial and auto-renewing subscription. I canceled through Paddle, got a refund, revoked Google access, and deleted the account. Always check the URL. Claude’s real site is claude.ai.