Metro Bank is the first bank in the UK to introduce a scam detection tool powered by artificial intelligence, which enables customers to quickly verify suspicious communications. The Metro Bank Scam Checker, developed in collaboration with AI company Ask Silver, allows personal customers and business customers to check with confidence whether they are being scammed using their mobile devices.

Customers are able to take a photo or screenshot of any suspicious email, website, letter, or leaflet and submit it via WhatsApp to the Scam Checker service, where the AI technology will analyze the content and determine if it is a fraud. They will provide safety recommendations in under 15 minutes.

Baz Thompson, head of fraud at Metro Bank, said: "This new partnership with Ask Silver is a game changer in protecting customers from fraud and helping to stop crime. We take the security of our customers very seriously and constantly review how we can help them fight fraud. Criminals often play on urgency and speed to trick people into parting ways with their hard-earned cash."

As scammers have become more sophisticated in targeting finances in the UK, recently including impersonation fraud (where criminals pose as legitimate, trusted organizations to gain access to an account), the service comes out. More than £1 billion was lost to fraud (including scams) in 2023, according to UK Finance (more than four in ten crimes in the UK are scams or fraud).

For the specific case of authorized push payment fraud, over three quarters (76 percent) start online and 16 percent via telecommunications networks. Metro Bank customers will have the service free of charge, and if a scam is found, they will receive a scam alert on their mobile device. Ask Silver will also report fraudulent communications to a relevant organization.