260K+ Chrome Users Duped by Fake AI Browser Extensions

260K+ Chrome users have been duped by 30 fake AI browser extensions that imitate AI assistants while secretly siphoning personal information. The Chrome Web Store extensions are carbon copies of one another, differing only in branding, and have collectively amassed more than 260,000 downloads, with tens of thousands of downloads per app.

According to Dark Reading, the extensions can overlay a full-screen iframe that connects to attacker-controlled domains, allowing data entered by victims to be captured and potentially exfiltrated. Natalie Zargarov of LayerX describes how attackers are now impersonating AI interfaces and developer tools, leveraging users’ familiarity with model names and expectations of AI tools.

Dark Reading contacted Google for comment on the story, and the article notes that the risk lies in how easily sensitive information can be pasted into AI tools and transmitted to attacker servers. Published on 16 February 2026, according to Dark Reading.