July 06, 2023

Brown, Colleagues Urge CFPB to Protect Consumers from Scams Using AI

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. SenatorsSherrod Brown (D-OH),Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Tina Smith (D-MN) are urging Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra to take action to protect consumers from scams and fraud caused by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in consumer financial products. The lawmakers raised concerns over AI voice cloning technology which can allow scammers to fraudulently access consumers’finances including their bank accounts.

“Voice cloning adds a new, threatening dimension to these scams, allowing fraudsters to generate voice clips to convincingly impersonate friends, family, or potentially even financial advisors and bank employees. Hearing trusted voices amplifies the risks of consumers falling victim to scams,”the lawmakers wrote.“The risks posed by voice cloning in the realm of financial scams demand immediate attention and action. To effectively address this emerging threat, we respectfully request that the CFPB review the risks posed by this new technology as soon as practicable and take action under the CFPB’s existing authorities to protect consumers.”

In May, Brown – Chair of the Senate, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee – raised similar concerns about voice authentication technology to the CEOs of six major banks and asked these banks to provide the committee with details as to how they will protect consumers from scams generated by AI.

A copy of the letter to the CFPB appears here and below:

Dear Director Chopra:

We write to express our deep concerns regarding the emergence of voice cloning technology and its potential exploitation in financial scams. We urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to take action regarding the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in consumer financial products, especially as it relates to protecting consumers from fraud and scams.

Voice cloning, the process of reproducing an individual's voice with high accuracy using AI and machine learning techniques, has seen remarkable advancements in recent years, and is increasingly being used in malicious ways.One particularly alarming application is its potential use in perpetrating financial scams.

Financial scams already impose significant hardships on unsuspecting consumers, who often have no reimbursement recourse from banks and peer-to-peer payment apps. In the past, this Committee has sent letters to Zelle, Cash App, and Venmo regarding their scam and fraud detection policies. Voice cloning adds a new, threatening dimension to these scams, allowing fraudsters to generate voice clips to convincingly impersonate friends, family, or potentially even financial advisors and bank employees. Hearing trusted voices amplifies the risks of consumers falling victim to scams. As the FTC explained in a recent consumer alert, while a grandparent may be aware of “grandparent scams”, the use of AI-generated voice clips increase uncertainty and make detection more difficult.

We are also concerned about how financial institutions themselves may be vulnerable to breaches powered by artificially generated voice clips. In May, Chairman Brown sent letters to six of the largest banks that offer voice authentication services, outlining concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) generated voice clips allow fraudulent actors to break into customers’ accounts. In comparing the responses received, it became clear that financial institutions do not have a uniform and robust approach to detecting and preventing AI-driven threats, leaving consumers vulnerable to harm.

The risks posed by voice cloning in the realm of financial scams demand immediate attention and action. To effectively address this emerging threat, we respectfully request that the CFPB review the risks posed by this new technology as soon as practicable and take action under the CFPB’s existing authorities to protect consumers. Thank you for your prompt attention to this critical matter and for your continued work to safeguard consumers.

Sincerely,

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