AMSTERDAM - Artificial intelligence (AI) is giving criminals many new opportunities to commit fraud and theft, Dutch bank ING told the Telegraaf. The newspaper wrote about a new type of malware used to steal the biometric data - fingerprints and facial scans - used to unlock phones and banking apps. 

According to the Telegraaf, the Chinese hacker group GoldFactory uses AI and the biometric data it steals with the new malware to create fake images of someone’s face. The hackers can then use these images to deceive facial scans and gain access to bank accounts, among other things, the newspaper wrote. 

Upon inquiry, ING told the Telegraaf that it is aware of the risk of fake images of customers’ faces. The bank “takes various visible and invisible measures” to ensure that customers can bank safely. 

“AI is an important development that is already widely used in the world around us. We take these types of technologies very seriously and keep an eye on developments to determine how we take them into account in our services,” ING said. “ING will, as we have done for years, warn customers through our campaigns about the latest developments.” 

The bank urged customers to be alert to malware that can steal data from their devices. “We always warn our customers not to click on links that could potentially download malware.” Only download apps from the App store and Play Store and not from other websites.