Financial giant Bank of America is urging customers to bank safely by not sharing their banking credentials with AI agents.
In a mass email to customers titled “Protecting Your Finances in a World of Al,” Bank of America urged customers to never share their usernames and passwords with anyone or outside services, including Al-enabled tools and agents who offer to act on your behalf.
You can really feel the frustration of the person who sent the email. Still, as personal AI assistants grow in popularity, customers are increasingly handing over their login information. If you share your bank username and password with an AI assistant, you run the risk that the assistant could do something to your finances without your knowledge, or that the bank might think someone is raiding your account and lock you out. Even worse, a security flaw in your AI assistant could leak your banking credentials elsewhere, allowing financially motivated hackers to break into your bank account.
This latest warning comes as banks are still figuring out how AI agents fit into the financial world, but are reportedly grappling with unauthorized agents accessing customer funds. As we discussed on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt, banks, payment providers, and processors are still exploring ways to use AI tools to help customers access their bank accounts. Agent payments can be set up so that agents can autonomously purchase products at the best price and at the right time.
A Bank of America spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the bank’s email posted on social media. However, heed your bank’s warnings. If something goes wrong, you are responsible. Most bank account agreements make the customer responsible to whomever they allow to log in. “If you share your credentials, please remember that you are responsible for the activities that result from that access,” the email said.
(via Brian Toporek)
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