Bank bosses are generally among the most enthusiastic artificial intelligence evangelists in the corporate world. AI can not only cut costs, they claim, it can also improve customer service and even protect people from scammers and others who are up to no good.
Time will tell if AI lives up to all this hype. What has undoubtedly become clearer, however, is that in financial services, AI also has a more sinister side: it is extremely useful for people trying to cheat the system.
The latest example of this is AI-facilitated mortgage fraud. We learned last week there could be hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent loans held by…
This remains the most prevalent form of financial crime globally. It targets the direct access points to your money: your cards and your bank accounts.
- Skimming: Criminals use small devices called “skimmers” placed over ATM or point-of-sale card slots to capture the data from your card’s magnetic strip.
- Card-Not-Present (CNP) Fraud: This occurs during online shopping where a physical card isn’t required. Thieves use stolen card numbers, expiry dates, and CVV codes to make unauthorized purchases.
- Account Takeover (ATO): A hacker gains access to your online banking credentials (often through malware or phishing) and changes the contact details or passwords, locking you out while they drain your funds.