Cheap AI Model Access Sold on Second-Hand Platforms Hides Data Leak Risks

Some sellers on second-hand trading platforms are running a "gray business" in paid AI model services. They sell cheap access to models like Doubao, DeepSeek, and Kimi under labels such as "cracked versions" and "low-price sharing", with prices from a few to tens of yuan.

Reporters found that the so-called "unlimited free memberships" is just cycling through many devices and accounts, with no real cracking involved. Other sellers rent out Kimi premium accounts by time, requiring login through a third-party page that shows a countdown timer.

Both Doubao and Kimi teams said such resales are unauthorized, break user agreements, and will be firmly cracked down on. Security experts noted that the API keys sold come from mixed sources, some obtained by hackers, so the paid service may stop at any time.

Legal experts say some of these actions have crossed legal red lines and may count as infringement or illegal business. Users' prompts and files may be kept and resold, making data leaks a serious risk.