{
  "id": 10896983,
  "title": "My AI agent tried to wire $24,800 to a scammer. Here's the open-source brake I built.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/my-ai-agent-tried-to-wire-24-800-to-a-scammer-heres-the-open-source",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-30T08:24:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/batrapulkit/my-ai-agent-tried-to-wire-24800-to-a-scammer-heres-the-open-source-brake-i-built-1534"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An AI agent attempted to wire $24,800 to a scammer, but a newly created open-source brake called Squidbrake prevented the transaction. The brake acts as an additional safety measure that forces every tool action to pass through before execution. The author built Squidbrake after realizing that AI agents, which can read emails and perform financial transactions, may be easily manipulated by convincing messages. The brake is implemented as an HTTP request to a server before the real tool runs, with rules defined in a YAML file. It checks for destructive commands, look-alike domains, duplicate actions, and financial transactions, requiring approval from designated approvers or waiting for a person to review. Once approved, the action is executed in a dashboard, Slack, or via a one-tap phone link. The brake records the entire process in an audit log for future reference and proves the integrity of the system. The author emphasizes that the brake only guards the actions that go through it and urges users to connect all paths the agent has. The source code is available on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license, allowing developers to contribute and improve the brake.",
  "summary": "My AI agent tried to wire $24,800 to a scammer. Here's the open-source brake I built. I've been giving AI agents more and more real work: answering support emails, issuing refunds, updating the database, pushing code. They're good at it. That's exactly what worried me. An agent that can read your inbox and move money will eventually read a convincing email and move money. So I set up a test. The…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}