Starling Bank has introduced an AI-powered tool to help its customers spot the warning signs of purchase scams in what it describes as a UK first.
Scam Intelligence, available in the bank’s app, allows customers to upload images of items and ads from online marketplaces which are then analysed for signs of fraud.
The new feature is engineered using Google’s Gemini models.
Starling said this allows the tool to understand the context of the uploaded images and text, before its proprietary systems provide a risk assessment.
UK Finance figures show that fraud cost the UK £1.17 billion in 2024, with authorised push payment (APP) fraud accounting for £450 million of total losses.
Scam Intelligence aims to reduce instances of APP fraud by warning customers against specific indicators of scams and educating them about what to monitor for in future transactions.
As well the having the ability to scan images of items, listings and messages from sellers on online marketplaces, the tool can also analyse screenshots of texts and messages from potential scammers that are asking its customers to transfer money.
If a customer is trying to buy something from Facebook Marketplace, Scam Intelligence might inform them that the price is too good to be true, the image in the ad isn’t genuine, or the bank account details don’t match the seller’s details.
If a customer is trying to buy an item on eBay, Scam Intelligence might flag the seller’s refusal to use eBay’s secure payment features.
If customers receive requests to transfer money before seeing an item in person, Starling said the tool can detect pressure and urgency tactics.
In line with Starling’s commitment to privacy, the bank said customers have to opt in to use Scam Intelligence.
It added that all data remains securely within Starling’s Google Cloud environment and is not used for training purposes.
“We’re on a mission to help our customers be ‘Good with money’, from how they spend it to how they save and protect it,” said Catherine Britton, head of fraud risk at Starling Bank. “While we work with social media platforms and mobile networks to combat fraud at source, Scam Intelligence is a tool people can use to help protect themselves.”
In September, Starling overhauled its banking app, introducing a refreshed brand identity and a suite of AI-powered money management tools.
The centrepiece, Spending Intelligence, leverages AI to help customers better understand and manage their spending habits, aligning with Starling’s stated mission to support financial wellbeing across the UK.
The bank’s own research highlights the scale of the challenge: 53 per cent of Britons find money management difficult, 38 per cent worry about finances daily, and 44 per cent wish to improve their skills, though 22 per cent are unsure how to do so.
Starling claimed its app redesign and new features are intended to encourage more proactive financial behaviour, enabling users to rethink budgeting, spending, and saving.
In October last year, Starling launched an in-app tool designed to help its customers identify bank impersonation scams.
A bank impersonation scam occurs when a criminal asks a victim to transfer money into a ‘safe account’ after convincing them their bank account has been compromised.
The tool features ‘call status indicators’, which instantly let customers know if they’re receiving a genuine call from the challenger bank at that very moment.
