Standard Bank fraud warning
Standard Bank has warned customers about a recent rise in fraudsters using artificial intelligence (AI)- generated voices and emails to impersonate bank officials and steal customers’ money.
The bank said that these scams were becoming increasingly difficult for customers to identify, as the calls and emails appear to come from their bank’s legitimate contact details.
Standard Bank fraud risk management head Athaly Khan said that AI’s rapid development has enabled an “alarming enhancement” in spoofing techniques.
Technologies like voice cloning, deepfake videos, chatbots, and AI-generated phishing emails have made spoofing more difficult to detect. “Current scams look and sound more real than ever before,” Khan said.
In some cases, fraudsters combine this tactic with vishing, where they appear to call from a valid Standard Bank number to extract information from victims that could compromise their accounts.
“The call mimics the tone and structure of a genuine bank interaction, often including standard security questions and disclaimers,” Standard Bank explained.
“To build trust, scammers may reference personal details such as birth dates, addresses, or account types. This information might seem harmless, but it is used to create credibility.”
Standard Bank said that the fraudsters would typically call about a service offering or to validate detected suspicious activity on the customer’s banking profile.
Once a customer panics, they ask them to transfer funds to a “safe” account, scan a QR code, click a link, or share sensitive information like OTPs or instant money voucher codes and PINs.
Fraudsters also use AI to craft more convincing phishing emails, making them less likely to be detected by sharp customers.
“These messages often use an urgent, threatening tone to pressure customers into acting quickly,” Standard Bank said.
“For example, they may claim that accounts have been flagged due to KYC or FICA compliance issues.”
The emails usually have dangerous malware hidden in links, attachments, icons, or QR codes. Once clicked or scanned, harmful software can be deployed to a user’s device.
These elements may also redirect customers to legitimate-looking clone websites designed to steal login credentials and card details.
Mistakes to avoid
In general, Standard Bank advised caution against any communications calling for urgent responses or actions from the customer.
It also provided several tips for people to avoid falling victim to AI-based fraud techniques:
- Don’t transfer funds to another account on instruction. Your bank can secure your funds without your involvement.
- Don’t generate instant money vouchers at someone else’s request. Authentication doesn’t require transactions.
- Don’t click links, icons, download attachments, or scan QR codes from texts or emails. Standard Bank doesn’t send these via digital communication.
- Never share login details, card expiry date, CVV (three digits on the back of your card), OTP, or ATM PIN.
- Never disclose financial information like your investments or where you hold other financial products.
- Never reveal your account details. You could unknowingly become a money mule.
Standard Bank’s warning about AI-powered fraud tactics comes shortly after FNB cautioned customers about similar tricks.
“In some cases, the scams can be incredibly sophisticated, leveraging deepfakes, voice synthesis, and automated chatbots to appear more legitimate,” FNB said.
“As a result, the losses can be substantial, and some victims may lose millions before realising they’ve been scammed.”
The bank has observed the issue to be particularly prevalent in crafting convincing investment scams.
“These scams, which promise high returns with little to no risk, have already affected thousands of customers,” FNB said.
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