ALBAWABA - Starling Bank, a British bank, occasionally referred to as a digital challenger bank or neobank, providing current and business bank accounts in the United Kingdom, said that artificial intelligence is posing a threat to millions of bank accounts worldwide.
Starling Bank warns of AI threats
Lisa Grahame, chief information security officer at Starling Bank, stated in a recent press release: “People regularly post content online which has recordings of their voice, without ever imagining it’s making them more vulnerable to fraudsters.”
Starling Bank warned that scammers can easily identify user’s friends and family members and use AI voice cloning, also known as voice synthesis or voice mimicry, a technology that uses machine learning to simulate a specific person's voice, to make a phone call and request money.
According to a recent survey conducted by Starling Bank and Mortar Research, over a quarter of 3,000 respondents experienced AI voice cloning scam in the past year.
Additionally, the survey also revealed that 46% of participants were unaware of AI scams, and 8% said they would send money to friends or family even if the call seemed suspicious.
According to a recent survey conducted by Starling Bank and Mortar Research, over a quarter of 3,000 respondents experienced AI voice cloning scam in the past year. (Shutterstock)
The bank encourages the creation of secure phrases and passwords to serve as verification terms for identifying individuals during phone calls. Starling Bank also advises against sharing passwords and OTPs via text messages, as this makes it easier for scammers to gain access.
On the other hand, OpenAI, the American artificial intelligence research organization and the company behind ChatGPT, AI-generated chatbot, unveiled its new voice engine transcription tool earlier this year, but did not make it publicly available due to concerns about the potential misuse of synthetic voice technology.
