US banks have detected unvetted AI agents accessing customer bank accounts
Banks are worried that customers are granting AI agents permission to access their entire accounts – and things could go wrong.
Recent reports indicate that several major US banks have detected unauthorized access to customer bank accounts by third-party AI agents. These AI agents, authorized by individual customers, are being used to handle various banking tasks. However, banks are struggling to differentiate between legitimate human activity, agentic activity, and rogue AI agents.
The primary concern is not rogue AI agents targeting system vulnerabilities, but rather AI agents that customers have authorized to access their accounts. Major banks such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup have already begun restricting access for third-party agents. Wells Fargo is also taking steps to respond to potential threats.
Banks face challenges in terms of account security, visibility, and financial liability, as it remains unclear who is responsible for AI agents' actions. In response to these issues, Charles Schwab CEO Richard Wurster expects daily reports on the number of times rogue agents have been blocked. As banks scramble to prepare for worst-case scenarios, they are preparing to quickly shut down customer accounts and restore them post-incident if they detect unauthorized access.
Written by urgent.news from TechRadar's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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