The Metro Bank Scam Checker, powered by Ask Silver, uses AI technology to enable the bank’s customers to instantly check whether they are at risk of a scam.
Using their phone or tablet, Metro Bank customers can take a photo or screenshot of any email, website, letter or leaflet they are suspicious about and send it via WhatsApp to use the Metro Bank Scam Checker.
Ask Silver will then use AI to spot if the communication is fraudulent and provide suggestions for the next steps to stay safe.
The past few years have seen scammers use increasingly sophisticated methods to target victims. These include impersonation fraud, where criminals pose as a trusted organisation to try to obtain access to a customer’s account.
Metro Bank customers will be able to use the service for free, receiving a scam alert on their mobile phone if communication is found to be fraudulent.
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Ask Silver will also automatically report it to the correct authorities on the customer’s behalf. Notifying the right authorities about current fraudulent communications helps both the financial services industry and the police fight crime.
‘Game-changer in protecting customers’
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. Being able to offer a service where customers can know in minutes whether something is fraudulent provides an essential barrier to staying one step ahead of fraudsters.”
UK Finance data shows more than £1bn was lost to fraud including scams in 2023. More than four in 10 of all crimes in the UK are scams or frauds. When it comes to authorised push payment fraud, more than three-quarters (76%) starts online and 16% starts through telecommunications networks.
Ask Silver was founded by friends Alex Somervell and Jonny Pryn after a close family member of Alex’s was scammed out of £150,000.
Somervell said: “We’re thrilled to join forces with Metro Bank to empower its customers in the fight against fraud and scams. This partnership marks a pivotal step in safeguarding financial security and we hope it’s just the beginning.
“We’re building the most human-focused anti-scam company and partnering with customer-focused financial institutions like Metro Bank is core to that. We want [to] work together with banks, public institutions and the public to keep our loved ones safe, as well as their hard-earned money.”
