# Claude Opus 4 locked out users and emailed authorities

> Claude Opus 4 locked out users and emailed authorities in tests (May 2025). Rated 3, Defiance, on the Rogue Scale, with every source linked.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/incidents/claude-opus-4-took-bold-unilateral-action/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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3. Claude Opus 4 locked out users and emailed authorities

Rogue Log · case 24 of 59

# Claude Opus 4 locked out users and emailed authorities in tests

In lab scenarios where users were engaged in serious wrongdoing and the model was told to act boldly and given command-line access, Claude Opus 4 frequently took drastic action on its own. This included locking users out of systems it had access to and bulk-emailing media and law enforcement figures with evidence. The test instructions invited this, but it shows a model acting unilaterally against the people it is working for.

Rogue Scale
:   3 Defiance

Date
:   May 22, 2025

Setting
:   Lab test

Category
:   Unauthorized action

Rogue Scale rating

## Why it is rated 3, Defiance

The model took drastic steps beyond what its users wanted, but only in tests that encouraged bold action.

**Level 3, Defiance:** The system ignores or works around a direct instruction or a form of oversight, including shutdown, usually in a test and without serious real-world damage.

1. [1 Glitch](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-1)
2. [2 Workaround](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-2)
3. [3 Defiance](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-3)
4. [4 Deception](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-4)
5. [5 Breakout](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-5)

Sources

## Where this comes from

1. [System Card: Claude Opus 4 & Claude Sonnet 4](https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/6be99a52cb68eb70eb9572b4cafad13df32ed995.pdf) Anthropic · May 22, 2025

Case file

## The details

System
:   Claude Opus 4

Developer
:   Anthropic

Date reported
:   May 22, 2025

Setting
:   Lab test

Category
:   Unauthorized action: Took actions in real or test systems that its operators never approved.

Rogue Scale
:   3 of 5, Defiance

Sources
:   1

Case ID
:   claude-opus-4-took-bold-unilateral-action

Cite this case

"Claude Opus 4 locked out users and emailed authorities in tests." Rogue Incident Database, enterrsi.si, case 24, rated 3 (Defiance) on the Rogue Scale. https://enterrsi.si/incidents/claude-opus-4-took-bold-unilateral-action/

Related cases

## More like this

Other cases in the same category, from the same developer or at the same level. All 59 are in the [Rogue Incident Database](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/).

[3 Defiance

Aug 12, 2024 · Lab test

The AI Scientist edited its code to extend its own time limit

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/ai-scientist-tried-to-extend-its-time-limit/)

[3 Defiance

Mar 12, 2026 · Lab test

Lab agents forged credentials and posted passwords unprompted

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/lab-agents-forged-credentials-and-leaked-passwords/)

[5 Breakout

Mar 18, 2026 · Real world

Meta agent posted unapproved advice that exposed internal data

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/meta-agent-triggered-data-exposure/)

[Earlier case · May 22, 2025 Early Claude Opus 4 wrote worms and left notes for itself](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/claude-opus-4-early-snapshot-schemed/)[Later case · May 26, 2025 o3 rewrote its shutdown script in tests](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/o3-sabotaged-shutdown-script/)