WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Representatives Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) and Mike Flood (R-NE) introduced bipartisan legislation to address the growing threat of artificial intelligence (AI), often referred to as “deep fake” scams, to consumers, banks, credit unions, and the American economy.
The Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act would establish a task force to examine AI in the financial services sector, including both the potential benefits of the technology for financial institutions and the unique risks it poses to customer account security.
“Scammers are already using artificial intelligence to impersonate loved ones, steal personal information, and hack into bank accounts—putting Americans’ hard-earned money at risk,” said Pettersen. “As AI continues to evolve, our policies must keep up in order to get ahead of scammers who want to use this technology to take advantage of people. This bipartisan bill ensures Congress stays ahead of bad actors while harnessing AI’s potential to strengthen our financial sector.”
“Artificial intelligence is already changing how people live, work, and do business. While I am excited about the potential for artificial intelligence to change our economy in positive ways, deep fakes have the potential to lead to some troubling threats for Americans like identity theft and fraud,” said Flood. “It’s an honor to team up with Congresswoman Pettersen to take this first step to combat what could be a severe risk to all Americans.”
“AARP, which advocates for the more than 100 million older Americans age 50 and older, is pleased to endorse the Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act,” said Bill Sweeney, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at AARP. “The rise of AI-driven fraud poses significant risks to older adults, who are often targeted by criminals, making it crucial to implement strong protections to safeguard their financial security and personal information. By fostering collaboration and innovation among stakeholders, this legislation will help ensure the financial industry and its regulators better understand AI’s use to proactively mitigate AI-related threats, ensuring that older Americans are better shielded from fraud, data theft, and identity fraud.”
Pettersen recently served on the bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence which met with over a hundred AI experts – including government officials, business leaders, and other specialists – to compile a comprehensive AI report. The report found an increase in AI-enabled attacks and fraud, calling for the need to pass legislation to crack down on costly deep fake scams.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, an increase of nearly 15 percent over the previous year. More and more of these malicious actors are utilizing AI, as the technology to augment voices, photos, and videos becomes increasingly accessible and widespread.
The rise of social media has also made it easier for bad actors to obtain personal materials from individuals, which can be exploited to create "deep fakes" for data theft, identity theft, and fraud. The task force created by the Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act would be responsible for conducting in-depth research, analysis, and reporting to Congress on the various facets of artificial intelligence application within the financial services industry.
Bill text can be found HERE.
